^ m ®heologi^/  * 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


% 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


.F5S 


Section 


> 


Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


\ 


A Group  of  Laos  Girls. 


Laos  Folk-Lore 

of 

Farther  India 


BY 

Katherine  Neville  Fleeson 

With  Illustrations  from  Photographs  taken  by 
W.  A.  Briggs,  M.  D. 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


Copyright,  1899 
by 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


Introduction 


These  Folk-Tales  from  the  Laos  country,  a 
part  of  the  kingdom  of  Siam,  in  addition  to 
their  intrinsic  merit  have  the  charm  of  complete 
novelty.  Until  the  translator  of  this  volume  col- 
lected these  stories,  they  were  even  unwritten, 
with  a single  exception  which  was  found  in  a 
Laos  manuscript.  They  are  orally  preserved  in 
the  provinces  which  constitute  the  Laos  country, 
just  as  they  have  been  handed  down  from  genera- 
tions of  ancestors,  with  slight  variations  in  words 
or  incidents.  The  elders  among  the  people  tell 
the  stories  at  their  merrymakings  around  the 
camp-fires  and  within  their  primitive  houses,  to 
amuse  and  instruct  the  youth  and  children. 

Living  among  the  Laos  in  the  friendly  and 
intimate  relation  of  a missionary,  the  translator 
has  had  the  advantage  of  long  residence  and 
unrivalled  opportunity  for  understanding  the 
history,  customs,  religious  ideas  and  aspirations 
of  this  interesting  people.  Aptness  in  use  of 
their  colloquial  speech  gave  her  special  facility 
for  gathering  the  stories  with  exactness,  as  they 
5 


6 


Introduction 


fell  from  the  lips  of  the  narrators  in  her  hearing; 
and  for  the  delicate  additional  task  of  translating 
them  into  English.  The  scholar,  who  is  a student 
of  the  world’s  Folk-Lore,  may  be  assured  that  he 
has  here,  the  Laos  tales  unobscured,  just  as  they 
are  told  to-day. 

Reflecting,  as  they  do,  thoughts,  desires  and 
hopes  common  to  our  humanity,  these  stories  at 
the  same  time  exhibit,  in  a pathetic  way,  the 
need  in  Laos  of  the  uplifting  and  transforming 
power  of  the  Christian  religion. 

Willis  G.  Craig. 

McCormick  Theological  Seminary , 

Chicago . 


Contents 

PAGE 

I.  Tales  of  the  Jungle 13 

1 A Child  of  the  Woods 15 

2 The  Enchanted  Mountain 17 

3 The  Spirit-Guarded  Cave 20 

4 The  Mountain  Spirits  and  the  Stone  Mortars,  23 

II.  Fables  from  the  Forest 25 

1 Right  and  Might 27 

2 Why  the  Lip  of  the  Elephant  Droops  ...  29 

3 How  a Dead  Tiger  Killed  the  Princess ...  32 

4 The  Monkeys  and  the  Crabs 33 

III.  Nature’s  Riddles  and  their  Answers  ....  35 

1 The  Man  in  the  Moon 37 

2 The  Origin  of  Lightning 38 

3 Why  the  Parrot  and  the  Minor  Bird  but  Echo 

the  Words  of  Man 41 

4 The  Fatherless  Birds 44 

IV.  Romance  and  Tragedy 47 

1 The  Lovers’  Leap 49 

2 The  Faithful  Husband 51 

3 The  Faithful  Wife 57 

4 An  Unexpected  Issue 60 

V.  Temples  and  Priests 63 

1 The  Giants’  Mountain  and  the  Temple  ...  65 

2 Cheating  the  Priest 67 

3 The  Disappointed  Priest 69 

4 The  Greedy  Priest 71 

5 The  Ambitious  Priest 73 

7 


8 Contents 

PAGE 

VI.  Moderation  and  Greed 75 

1 The  Wizard  and  the  Beggar 77 

2 A Covetous  Neighbor 80 

3 A Lazy  Man’s  Plot 83 

4 The  Ungrateful  Fisherman 84 

5 The  Legend  of  the  Rice 85 

VII.  Parables  and  Proverbs 87 

1 “ One  Woman,  in  Deceit  and  Craft,  is  More 

than  a Match  for  Eight  Men  ” 89 

2 “ The  Wisest  Man  of  a Small  Village  is  Not 

Equal  in  Wisdom  to  a Boy  of  the  City 
Streets” 93 

3 “ To  Aid  Beast  is  Merit ; to  Aid  Man  is  But 

Vanity” 95 

VIII.  The  Gods  Know  and  the  Gods  Reward  ...  99 

1 Love’s  Secrets 101 

2 Poison-Mouth 103 

3 Strife  and  Peace 105 

4 The  Widow’s  Punishment 107 

5 Honesty  Rewarded 109 

6 The  Justice  of  In  Ta  Pome 1 1 1 

IX.  Wonders  of  Wisdom 113 

1 The  Words  of  Untold  Value 115 

2 A Wise  Philosopher 119 

3 The  Boys  Who  Were  Not  Appreciated  . . .122 

4 The  Magic  Well 126 

X.  Strange  Fortunes  of  Strange  People  . . . .129 

1 The  Fortunes  of  Ai  Powlo 131 

2 The  Fortunes  of  a Lazy  Beggar 135 

3 The  Misfortunes  of  Paw  Yan 139 

4 An  Unfortunate  Shot 141 


Contents 


9 


PAGB 

XI.  Stories  Gone  Astray 143 

1 The  Blind  Man 145 

2 “ Heads,  I Win.  Tails,  You  Lose  ” . . . . 148 

3 The  Great  Boaster 149 

4 A Clever  Thief 151 

5 Eyeless-Needle,  Rotten-Egg,  Rotten-Banana, 

Old-Fish  and  Broken-Pestle 152 


List  of  Illustrations. 


A Group  of  Laos  Girls  ....  Frontispiece 
Types  of  the  Laos  People  . . . Facing  page  15 


A Laos  Forest-stream 

it 

tt 

28 

The  Laos  Governor’s  Wife  at  her  Em- 

broidery  Frame  . . . . 

tt 

tt 

57 

A Group  of  Buddhist  Priests  \ 

The  Interior  of  a Buddhist  Temple  ) 

tt 

tt 

66 

Monastery  Grounds  at  Chieng  Tung,  Laos 

tt 

tt 

72 

At  Work  in  the  Rice  Fields 

tt 

tt 

86 

The  “Chow”  and  his  Palace 

tt 

tt 

96 

A Laos  Feast  \ 

A Street  in  a Laos  Town  ) 

tt 

tt 

1 36 

IZ 


I 

Tales  of  the  Jungle 


Types  of  the  Laos  People. 


A Child  of  The  Woods 


Deep  in  the  forest  of  the  North  there  is  a large 
village  of  jungle  people,  and,  among  them  is  one 
old  woman,  who  is  held  in  reverence  by  all. 
The  stranger  who  asks  why  she  is  honored  as  a 
princess  is  thus  answered  by  her: 

“ Verily,  I have  much  boon,1  for  I am  but  a 
child  of  nature.  When  I was  a young  maiden, 
it  fell  upon  a day  that  my  heart  grew  hot  with 
anger.  For  many  days  the  anger  grew  until  it 
filled  my  whole  heart,  also  were  my  eyes  so  red 
that  I could  see  but  dimly,  and  no  longer  could  I 
live  in  the  village  or  among  my  own  people,  for 
I hated  all  men  and  I felt  that  the  beasts  of 
the  forest  were  more  to  me  than  my  kindred. 
Therefore,  I fled  from  the  face  of  man  into  the 
jungle  where  no  human  foot  had  ever  gone.  All 
day  I journeyed,  running  as  though  my  feet 
would  never  weary  and  feeling  no  pangs  of 
hunger.  When  the  darkness  closed  about  me,  I 
was  not  afraid,  but  lay  down  under  the  shelter  of 
a tree,  and,  for  a time,  slept  peacefully,  as  peace- 
fully as  though  in  my  own  home.  At  length,  I 
1 Merit. 

15 


16  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

was  awakened  by  the  breath  of  an  animal,  and, 
in  the  clear  light  of  the  moon,  I saw  a large  tiger 
before  me.  It  smelled  of  my  face,  my  hands  and 
my  feet,  then  seated  itself  by  my  head  and 
watched  me  through  the  night,  and  I lay  there 
unafraid.  In  the  early  morning,  the  tiger  de- 
parted and  I continued  my  journey.  Quieter 
was  my  heart.  Still,  I disliked  my  own  people 
but  had  no  fear  of  the  beasts  or  the  reptiles  of 
the  forest. 

During  the  day  I ate  of  the  fruit  which  grew 
wild  in  abundance,  and  at  night  I slept  'neath  a 
tree,  protected  and  guarded  by  fierce,  wild  beasts 
which  molested  not  my  sleep.  For  many  days  I 
wandered  thus,  and  the  nights  were  secure;  for 
the  wild  beasts  watched  over  and  protected  me. 
Thus  my  heart  grew  cool  in  my  bosom,  and  I no 
longer  hated  my  people;  and,  after  one  moon 
had  gone,  I found  myself  near  a village.  The 
people  wondered  to  see  me  approach  from  the 
jungle,  dreaded  as  being  the  jungle  of  the  man- 
eating  tiger.  When  I related  my  story,  the  peo- 
ple were  filled  with  wonder  and  brought  rich 
gifts  to  me.  For  a year  and  a day  I abode 
there,  and  no  more  the  wild  beasts  molested 
their  cattle. 

But  my  heart  yearned  to  see  the  face  of  my 


Tales  of  the  Jungle 


17 


kindred  again,  so,  laden  with  silver,  gold  and 
rich  garments  and  seated  in  the  howdah  1 of  an 
elephant,  the  people  escorted  me  to  my  own  vil- 
lage, and  here  have  I abode  in  content  these  one 
hundred  years. 


The  Enchanted  Mountain 

The  hunters  who  are  continually  going  about 
from  place  to  place,  climbing  up  high  hills,  de- 
scending into  deep  ravines  and  making  ways 
through  jungles  in  search  of  the  wild  bison  and 
other  game,  tell  strange  tales  of  an  enchanted 
place  away  on  the  top  of  a lofty  mountain. 
There,  is  a beautiful  lake,  which  is  as  bright  and 
clear  as  a drop  of  morning  dew  hanging  on  the 
petal  of  the  white  water-lily,  and,  when  you 
drink  of  it,  you  are  no  longer  aweary;  new  life 
has  come  into  you,  and  your  body  is  more  vigor- 
ous than  ever  before.  The  flowers  on  the  mar- 
gin of  this  enchanted  lake  are  more  beautiful 
than  those  that  grow  in  any  other  spot,  and, 
such  is  the  love  of  the  cherishing  spirits  for  it, 
that  they  care  for  it  as  for  no  other  place  in  this 
world.  Bananas  of  a larger  growth  than  can  be 

1 The  car  placed  on  the  back  of  elephants. 


18  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


found  in  the  gardens  of  man,  and  oranges, 
sweeter  to  the  taste  than  those  we  ever  eat,  are 
there.  The  fruits  of  all  trees,  more  beautiful  to 
the  eye  and  richer  than  man  can  produce,  are 
there,  free  to  those  who  can  find  them.  All  the 
fowls  usually  nurtured  by  man  and  flocking 
about  his  door  are  there,  and  they  are  not  af- 
frighted by  the  presence  of  the  hunter  but  come 
at  his  call.  Should  the  hunter  wish  to  kill  them, 
his  arrow  cannot  pierce  their  charmed  bodies  to 
deprive  them  of  life,  but  the  arrow  falls  harmless 
to  the  ground,  because  the  spirits  protect  them 
and  their  lives  are  sacred.  Great  fields  of  rice 
are  about  this  place,  and  the  hunter  marvels  at 
the  size  of  the  grains  and  at  the  strength  of  the 
stalks.  No  field  cared  for  by  man  has  seen  grain 
like  that  which  the  spirits  nourish. 

Many  men,  on  hearing  of  this  wonderful 
mountain-top,  have  sought  it,  but  all  have  re- 
turned unsuccessful  to  their  homes,  saying,  no 
such  place  is  on  this  earth.  Only  the  hunter, 
who  has  chased  the  game  through  the  jungle, 
o’er  the  streams  and  up  the  steep  mountain- 
sides, when  tired  and  discouraged  because  the 
coveted  prize  has  gone  far  beyond  his  reach,  is 
rewarded  for  all  his  labor,  when  he  finds  himself 
in  the  garden  of  fruit,  or  on  the  margin  of  the 


Tales  of  the  Jungle 


19 


enchanted  lake,  whose  waters  give  renewed 
vigor  to  his  wearied  body. 

Often,  when  the  hunter  desires  to  eat  of  the 
flesh  of  the  fowls,  he  endeavors  to  kill  the  fowls, 
but  no  effort  of  his  can  take  their  life,  as  the 
spirits  hold  them  in  their  care.  No  mortal  can 
harm  them.  Nor  can  the  hunter  take  any  of  the 
fruit  away,  for,  as  he  leaves  the  spot,  no  matter 
how  he  may  hold  it,  it  vanishes  from  his  hand. 
Thus,  no  man,  who  has  not  seen  the  place,  has 
eaten  of  the  fruit  nor  drank  of  the  water;  so, 
many  doubt  their  existence,  for  such  is  the  heart 
of  man  that  he  must  touch  with  his  hands,  see 
with  his  eyes,  or  taste  with  his  tongue,  ere  he 
can  believe.  Nevertheless,  on  the  top  of  the 
lofty  mountain  there  is  the  lake  with  the  cool 
waters,  clear  and  beautiful,  where  the  fowls 
swim  on  its  surface,  or  drink  from  its  margin, 
and  the  grain  and  the  fruit  ripen  for  those  who 
are  loved  of  the  spirits,  and  are  led  by  them  to 
this  cherished  spot  where  they  may  rest  and  be 
refreshed,  and  then  return  to  their  wives  and 
children  and  tell  them  of  the  care  of  the  spirits. 
The  little  ones,  who  have  hearts  free  from  guile, 
believe. 


The  Spirit-Guarded  Cave 


When  the  people  of  the  far  north1  were 
molested  by  their  foes  and  were  in  continual 
fear,  they  consulted  together,  saying,  “Our  lives 
are  spent  in  trying  to  escape  from  our  enemies 
and  no  joy  can  be  ours.  Let  us  flee  to  the  south 
country2  where,  if  the  people  make  slaves  of  us, 
we  can,  at  least,  know  that  our  lives  will  be 
spared,  and  life,  even  in  slavery,  is  better  than 
this  constant  fear  of  our  enemies  destroying  both 
ourselves  and  our  dwelling-places  and  taking  our 
cattle  for  their  own."  Therefore,  they  gathered 
together  all  their  household  goods,  secreted  their 
money  and  jewels  about  their  persons,  and,  load- 
ing their  cattle  with  rice,  they  commenced  their 
toilsome  journey  through  the  narrow  jungle  paths 
and  across  the  high  mountains  on  their  way  to  the 
south,  where  they  hoped  for  peace  and  safety. 
The  way  was  long  and  difficult,  and  the  rice  was 
all  eaten  and  the  cattle  killed  and  consumed  be- 
fore they  had  nearly  reached  their  journey's  end. 
Then  the  fugitives  commenced  to  use  their 
money  to  buy  food  that  they  might  have  strength 

1 In  China.  8 Siam. 


20 


Tales  of  the  Jungle 


21 


for  the  journey,  and  they  whispered  one  to  an- 
other that  the  people  looked  with  covetous 
eyes  on  their  hoard  of  money  and  jewels,  and 
they  feared  they  would  be  slain  because  of  the 
greed  of  the  people. 

One  man,  wiser  than  the  others,  said,  “ Why 
do  we  endanger  our  lives  for  our  possessions  ? 
Can  we  not  find  some  secret  place  in  which  to 
leave  our  money  and  jewels,  and  when  brighter 
days  come  to  us  we  can  return  and  find  them 
even  as  we  left  them  ?” 

All  the  people  cried,  “Your  words  are  wise. 
Let  us  do  accordingly,"  and  as  these  people  were 
loved  of  the  spirits,  they  were  led  to  a deep  cave 
in  the  midst  of  a wood  where  man  seldom  came, 
and  there  they  left  their  possessions  in  the  care  of 
the  spirits  who  promised  to  guard  them  until  in 
the  days,  when  life  being  brighter  and  more 
secure,  the  owners  would  come  and  claim  them. 

The  people  journeyed  on  to  the  south  country, 
and  there  lived  as  slaves.  Many  generations  of 
them  lived  and  died,  but  they  could  not  escape 
nor  come  to  claim  the  vast  wealth  and  jewels 
which  they  had  left  in  care  of  the  spirits  of  the 
cave. 

The  story  became  known,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  all  the  surrounding  countries  went  to  the 


22  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

cave  and  sought  to  secure  the  treasure.  But  such 
was  the  care  of  the  spirits  that  no  man  with 
safety  could  enter  the  cave.  A light  was  in- 
stantly extinguished,  if  let  down  into  the  deep 
pit  leading  into  the  chamber  where  the  treasure 
was,  for  the  spirits  blew  their  breath  upon  it  and 
it  was  no  more.  All  devices  were  tried  to  obtain 
the  treasure,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  country  the 
people  came  to  try  to  overcome  the  charm 
which  the  spirits  had  placed  upon  the  cave,  but 
no  one  was  able  to  break  it.  One  man  went 
even  into  the  treasure  chamber  and  filled  his 
hands  with  the  precious  stones,  but  he  was  over- 
come by  a deadly  sickness  and  was  forced  to 
replace  the  jewels  in  the  treasure  chest  and  flee 
for  his  life  so  as  to  escape  the  wrath  of  the 
guarding  spirits.  Even  the  white,  foreign 
strangers,  who  have  come  into  the  land  and 
placed  their  strong  hands  on  the  elephants  and 
the  trees1  of  the  forest  and  claimed  them  for 
their  use,  were  baffled  and  driven  back  by  the 
faithful  spirits  when  they  endeavored  to  enter 
the  treasure  chamber,  and  for  all  time  this  treas- 
ure shall  remain  there,  for,  if  the  white  foreigner, 
by  his  wisdom,  or  by  his  craft,  fails  to  obtain 
it,  verily  it  will  remain  untouched  forever. 

1 Teak-wood. 


The  Mountain  Spirits  and  the  Stone 
Mortars 

The  spirits,  who  lived  in  the  mountains  near  a 
large  city,  upon  a time  wanted  money  for  some 
purpose,  and  they  brought  down  to  the  people 
of  the  city  a number  of  large  and  heavy  stone 
mortars  which  they  commanded  them  to  buy  at 
an  exorbitant  price. 

The  men  of  the  city  said,  “ The  price  you  ask 
is  too  great;  moreover,  we  have  no  need  of  your 
mortars,  as  they  are  too  large  for  us  to  use  in 
pounding  out  our  rice,  or  for  any  other  purpose. 
Therefore,  we  do  not  wish  to  buy  them/’ 

The  spirits  were  very  angry  because  they  did 
not  cheerfully  agree  to  pay  the  money,  and 
answered,  “If  you  will  not  buy  these  mortars 
which  we  have  brought  for  your  use,  you  shall 
carry  them  up  to  our  home  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  for  the  labor  of  bringing  them  down 
has  wearied  us.” 

Not  daring  to  incur  the  wrath  of  the  spirits,  and 
yet  being  utterly  unable  to  carry  the  huge  mortars 
to  the  high  mountain,  they  paid  the  price,  for, 
they  reasoned,  “Is  any  price  too  great  to  risk  our 
falling  under  the  displeasure  of  the  evil  spirits  ? ” 
23 


24  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


The  spirits  departed  with  the  money,  and  to 
this  day,  the  stone  mortars  are  scattered  about 
the  streets  of  that  city,  and,  when  strangers  ask 
why  they  are  there  and  what  use  is  made  of 
them,  this  story  will  be  told,  and  all  people  say 
it  is  verily  the  truth,  for  do  you  not  see  them 
with  your  eyes,  and  how  else  could  they  have 
come  here,  had  not  the  spirits  brought  them  ? 


II 


Fables  From  the  Forest 


Right  and  Might 


While  a deer  was  eating  wild  fruit,  he  heard 
an  owl  call,  “Haak,  haak,”  1 and  a cricket  cry, 
“Wat,”  2 and,  frightened,  he  fled. 

In  his  flight  he  ran  through  the  trees  up  into 
the  mountains  and  into  streams.  In  one  of  the 
streams  the  deer  stepped  upon  a small  fish  and 
crushed  it  almost  to  death. 

Then  the  fish  complained  to  the  court,  and  the 
deer,  owl,  cricket  and  fish  had  a lawsuit.  In  the 
trial  came  out  this  evidence: 

As  the  deer  fled,  he  ran  into  some  dry  grass, 
and  the  seed  fell  into  the  eye  of  a wild  chicken, 
and  the  pain  of  the  seed  in  the  eye  of  the  chicken 
caused  it  to  fly  up  against  a nest  of  red  ants. 
Alarmed,  the  red  ants  flew  out  to  do  battle,  and 
in  their  haste,  bit  a mon-goose.  The  mon-goose 
ran  into  a vine  of  wild  fruit  and  shook  several 
pieces  of  it  on  the  head  of  a hermit,  who  sat 
thinking  under  a tree. 

“Why  didst  thou,  O fruit,  fall  on  my  head,” 
cried  the  hermit. 

The  fruit  answered:  “We  did  not  wish  to 

1 Haak — a spear.  8 Wat — surrounded. 

27 


28  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


fall;  a mon-goose  ran  against  our  vine  and 
threw  us  down." 

And  the  hermit  asked,  “O  mon-goose,  why 
didst  thou  throw  the  fruit?’' 

The  mon-goose  answered:  “I  did  not  wish 

to  throw  down  the  fruit,  but  the  red  ants  bit  me 
and  I ran  against  the  vine.” 

The  hermit  asked,  “O  ants,  why  did  ye  bite 
the  mon-goose  ? ” 

The  red  ants  replied:  “The  hen  flew  against 
our  nest  and  angered  us.” 

The  hermit  asked,  “O  hen,  why  didst  thou 
fly  against  the  red  ants’  nest  ? ” 

And  the  hen  replied:  “The  seed  fell  into  my 
eyes  and  hurt  me.” 

And  the  hermit  asked,  “O  seed,  why  didst 
thou  fall  into  the  hen’s  eyes  ? ” 

And  the  seed  replied:  “The  deer  shook  me 

down.” 

The  hermit  said  unto  the  deer,  “O  deer,  why 
didst  thou  shake  down  the  seed  ?” 

The  deer  answered:  “ I did  not  wish  to  do  it, 

but  the  owl  called,  frightening  me  and  I ran.” 

“O  owl,”  asked  the  hermit,  “why  didst 
thou  frighten  the  deer?” 

The  owl  replied:  “I  called  but  as  I am  ac- 
customed to  call — the  cricket,  too,  called.” 


A Laos  Forest-stream. 


Fables  From  the  Forest 


29 


Having  heard  the  evidence,  the  judge  said, 
“The  cricket  must  replace  the  crushed  parts  of 
the  fish  and  make  it  well,”  as  he,  the  cricket,  had 
called  and  frightened  the  deer. 

The  cricket  was  smaller  and  weaker  than  the 
owl  or  the  deer,  therefore  had  to  bear  the 
penalty. 


Why  the  Lip  of  the  Elephant  Droops 

In  the  days  when  the  earth  was  young  lived  a 
poor  man  and  his  wife  who  had  twelve  daugh- 
ters, whom  they  no  longer  loved  and  no  longer 
desired.  Day  after  day  the  father  and  mother 
planned  to  be  free  of  them,  and  upon  a day,  the 
father  made  ready  a basket;  in  the  bottom  he 
placed  ashes,  but  on  the  top  he  spread  rice. 
Taking  this  basket  with  him,  he  called  his 
daughters  to  come  go  to  the  jungle  to  hunt  for 
game. 

When  the  heat  of  the  day  had  come,  they  all 
sat  down  to  eat,  and,  after  they  had  eaten,  the 
father  gave  each  daughter  a bamboo  joint,  and 
bade  her  get  water  for  him.  The  joints  were 
so  made  that  they  would  not  hold  water,  and 


30  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


while  the  maidens  endeavored  to  make  them  so 
they  would,  the  father  returned  home.  In  vain 
did  the  maidens  try  to  make  the  joints  hold  the 
water  and  after  a time  they  sought  their  father, 
but,  lo,  the  father  was  gone  and  only  the  basket 
remained!  Examining  the  basket,  they  found 
rice  but  on  the  top,  and  on  the  bottom  filled  with 
ashes,  so  they  knew  their  parents  sought  to  be 
free  of  them  by  leaving  them  in  the  trackless 
jungle.  Unable  to  find  their  way  out,  there  they 
slept  peacefully,  for  the  wild  beasts  molest  not 
those  who  fearlessly  stay  with  them. 

As  the  eye  of  day  opened  in  the  East,  the  for- 
lorn maidens  beheld,  as  they  awakened,  a beau- 
tiful woman  standing  near,  and  of  her  they 
sought  help. 

“Come  with  me  and  be  companions  to  my 
little  daughter.  Often  am  I away  from  home 
and  she  is  lonely.  Come  home  with  me,  play 
with  my  daughter,  and,  in  exchange  I will  give 
you  a home/’  said  the  beautiful  woman. 

Gladly  the  maidens  consented  and  went  with 
the  woman  to  her  home  far  in  the  jungle.  All 
places  save  one  small  garden  were  they  free  to 
enter.  And  upon  a day,  the  fair  woman  said, 
“I  go  to  the  jungle  and  will  not  return  until  the 
eye  of  day  has  closed.  Do  not  play  in  the  small 


Fables  From  the  Forest 


31 


garden.”  Scarcely  had  she  gone  ere  she  returned, 
but  the  maidens  had  not  sought  the  garden. 

Again,  upon  a day,  the  fair  woman  said,  “ I go 
to  the  jungle  but  for  a short  time.  Go  not  to 
play  in  the  small  garden.” 

Thinking  she  would  this  time  be  gone  all  day, 
the  maidens  sought  the  small  garden,  and  lo,  it 
was  strewn  with  human  bones!  Then  they  knew 
the  fair  woman  was  a cannibal.  Full  of  fear, 
they  fled,  and,  as  they  fled  they  met  a cow. 

“ Protect  us,”  they  cried. 

The  cow  opened  its  mouth  and  the  maidens 
jumped  in.  Thus  they  journeyed  from  the  canni- 
bal’s home.  As  the  cow  returned,  it  met  the  fair 
woman  seeking  the  maidens. 

“Have  you  seen  twelve  maidens  pass  this 
way  ? ” asked  she. 

“No,”  answered  the  cow. 

“If  you  do  not  speak  the  truth,  I’ll  kill  and  eat 
you,”  cried  she. 

“ I saw  them  as  they  made  haste  in  that  way,” 
replied  the  cow. 

The  cannibal  woman  pursued  that  way. 

After  the  cow  left  them,  the  maidens  hastened 
on  and  as  they  hastened  they  met  an  elephant 
and  begged  it  to  save  them  from  the  cannibal. 

The  elephant  opened  its  mouth  and  the 


32  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

maidens  jumped  in,  but  so  slowly  did  one  jump 
that  an  edge  of  her  garment  hung  out  of  the 
mouth.  As  they  journeyed  the  cannibal  overtook 
them. 

“Did  you  see  twelve  maidens  hastening  to- 
ward the  city  ? ” asked  the  cannibal. 

“No,”  answered  the  elephant. 

“From  this  time  forth  forever  the  lip  of  thy 
mouth  shall  hang  down  as  a garment/’  cursed 
the  cannibal,  for  she  had  seen  the  edge  of  the 
maiden’s  garment  hanging  out  of  the  elephant’s 
mouth  and  knew  it  was  protecting  the  twelve 
maidens.  And  to  this  day  doth  the  lip  of  the 
elephant  hang  down  like  a garment. 

How  a Dead  Tiger  Killed  the  Princess 

There  was  once  a king  who  had  a daughter  at 
whose  birth  a wise  man  foretold  that  she  would 
be  killed  by  a tiger  when  she  was  a maiden 
grown.  In  order  that  no  animal  might  approach 
her,  the  king  built  her  a house  set  upon  one  huge 
pillar,  and  there  she  and  her  attendants  ever 
dwelt. 

And  it  fell  upon  a day,  when  the  daughter  was 
well  grown,  that  one  of  the  hunters,  whose  labor 


Fables  From  the  Forest 


33 


it  was  to  kill  the  tigers  of  the  country,  brought  a 
dead  one  to  the  palace  of  the  king.  The  prin- 
cess, seeing  her  dead  enemy,  came  down  from 
her  tower  and  plucked  a whisker  from  the  tiger, 
and,  as  she  blew  her  breath  on  it,  she  cried,  “ I 
do  not  fear  thee,  O my  enemy,  for  thou  art 
dead  1 ” But  the  poison,  which  is  in  the  whiskers 
of  a tiger,  entered  into  the  blood  of  the  princess, 
and  she  died. 

Then  did  the  king  make  a proclamation,  and 
sent  messengers  throughout  all  his  realm,  com- 
manding that,  when  a tiger  was  killed,  all  his 
whiskers  be  immediately  pulled  out  and  burned, 
that  a tiger  may  not  be  able  to  slay  when  dead; 
and  until  this  day,  the  people  obey  the  command 
of  the  king. 

The  Monkeys  and  the  Crabs 

All  the  monkeys  which  live  in  the  forests  near 
the  great  sea  in  the  south,  watch  the  tide  running 
out,  hoping  to  catch  the  sea-crabs  which  are  left 
in  the  soft  earth.  If  they  can  find  a crab  above 
the  ground,  they  immediately  catch  and  eat  it. 

Sometimes,  the  crabs  bury  themselves  in  the 
mud,  and  the  monkeys,  seeing  the  tunnels  they 


34  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

have  made,  reach  down  into  them  with  their 
long  tails,  and  torment  the  crabs  until  they,  in 
anger,  seizing  the  tormenting  tail,  are  drawn  out 
and  devoured  by  their  cunning  foes.  But,  some- 
times, alas,  the  crab  fails  to  come  out!  No  mat- 
ter with  what  strength  the  monkey  pulls  and 
tugs,  the  crabs  do  not  appear,  and  the  poor 
monkey  is  held  fast,  while  the  tide  comes  in  and 
drowns  it.  When  the  tide  goes  out  again,  leav- 
ing the  luckless  monkey  on  the  beach,  the  crabs 
come  out  from  their  strongholds  and  feast  on  the 
dead  enemy. 


Ill 


Nature’s  Riddles  and  Their  Answers 


-5 


The  Man  in  the  Moon 


There  was  a blacksmith  once,  who  com- 
plained: “I  am  not  well,  and  my  work  is  too 
warm.  I want  to  be  a stone  on  the  mountain. 
There  it  must  be  cool,  for  the  wind  blows  and 
the  trees  give  a shade.” 

A wise  man,  who  had  power  over  all  things, 
replied,  “ Go  thou,  be  a stone.”  And  he  was 
a stone,  high  up  on  the  mountain-side. 

It  happened  a stone-cutter  came  that  way  for 
stone,  and,  when  he  saw  the  one  that  had  been 
the  blacksmith,  he  knew  it  was  what  he  sought 
and  he  began  to  cut  it. 

The  stone  cried  out:  “This  hurts.  I no 
longer  want  to  be  a stone.  A stone-cutter  I 
want  to  be.  That  would  be  pleasant.” 

The  wise  man,  humoring  him,  said,  “ Be  a 
cutter.”  Thus  he  became  a stone-cutter  and,  as  he 
went  seeking  suitable  stone,  he  grew  tired,  and 
his  feet  were  sore.  He  whimpered,  “ I no  longer 
want  to  cut  stone.  I would  be  the  sun,  that 
would  be  pleasant.” 

The  wise  man  commanded,  “ Be  the  sun.” 
And  he  was  the  sun. 


37 


38  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

But  the  sun  was  warmer  than  the  blacksmith, 
than  a stone,  than  a stone-cutter,  and  he  com- 
plained, “ I do  not  like  this.  I would  be  the 
moon.  It  looks  cool." 

The  wise  man  spake  yet  again,  “ Be  the 
moon."  And  he  was  the  moon. 

“This  is  warmer  than  being  the  sun,"  mur- 
mured he,  “for  the  light  from  the  sun  shines  on 
me  ever.  1 do  not  want  to  be  the  moon.  I 
would  be  a smith  again.  That,  verily,  is  the 
best  life." 

But  the  wise  man  replied,  “ I am  weary  of 
your  changing.  You  wanted  to  be  the  moon; 
the  moon  you  are,  and  it  you  will  remain." 

And  in  yon  high  heaven  lives  he  to  this  day. 

The  Origin  of  Lightning 

There  was  once  a great  chief  who  desired 
above  all  things  to  be  happy  in  the  future  life, 
therefore  he  continually  made  feasts  for  the 
priests  and  the  poor;  spending  much  money  in 
making  merit.  He  had  ten  wives,  nine  of  whom 
helped  him  in  all  the  merit-makings,  but  the 
head  wife,  his  favorite,  would  never  take  part. 
Laughing,  and  making  herself  beautiful  in  soft 


Nature’s  Riddles  and  Their  Answers  39 

garments  and  jewels,  she  gave  naught  to  the 
priests. 

And  on  a day,  when  the  great  chief  and  his 
nine  merit-making  wives  were  no  more,  but 
had  gone  to  live  in  the  sky  on  account  of  their 
merit-making,  the  great  chief  longed  for  his 
favorite,  and  taking  a gl^ss,  he  looked  down  on 
the  earth  to  see  her.  After  many  days,  he  be- 
held her  as  a crane  hunting  for  food  on  the 
border  of  a lake.  The  great  chief,  to  try  her 
heart  and  to  see  if  she  had  repented,  came  down 
from  his  home  in  the  sky  in  the  form  of  a fish, 
and  swam  to  the  crane.  Seeing  the  fish,  the 
crane  pecked  at  it,  but  the  fish  sprang  out  of  the 
water,  and  when  the  crane  saw  it  was  alive,  she 
would  not  touch  it.  Again  the  fish  floated  near 
the  crane  and  she  pecked  at  it,  but  on  finding  it 
was  alive  let  it  escape.  Then  was  the  heart  of 
the  great  chief  glad,  for  he  saw  that  his  favorite 
wife  would  not  destroy  life  even  to  satisfy  her 
hunger,  and  he  knew  that  her  merit  was  such 
she  could  be  born  in  the  form  of  a woman  again. 

It  happened  on  a day  that  the  crane  died,  and, 
when  again  born,  had  the  form  of  a gardener’s 
child.  As  the  child  grew  in  years  and  stat- 
ure, she  was  fairer  than  any  other  in  the  land, 
and,  when  a maiden,  the  father  and  mother  made 


40  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

a feast,  inviting  all  the  people  to  come.  During 
the  feast,  they  gave  a wreath  of  beautiful  flowers 
to  their  daughter  and  said,  “ Throw  this  into  the 
air,  and  on  whosesoever  head  it  falls,  that  one 
will  be  to  thee  a husband." 

The  great  chief,  her  husband  of  old,  seeking 
her,  came  down  to  the  earth  in  the  lorm  of  an 
old  man,  and,  when  the  maiden  cast  the  wreath 
into  the  air,  it  fell  on  the  head  of  this  old  man. 

Great  sport  was  made  of  him,  and  tauntingly 
the  people  cried,  “ Does  this  bent  stick  think  he 
is  mate  for  our  lotus  flower?" 

But  the  fair  maiden  placed  her  hand  in  the  old 
man's  hand,  and,  together  they  rose  into  the  air. 
In  vain  they  sought  to  detain  them — the  father 
even  shot  at  the  old  man,  but  they  were  soon  lost 
to  sight,  and  to  this  day,  when  the  people  see  the 
chain  lightning  in  the  sky,  they  say  it  is  the 
wreath  of  the  beautiful  maiden  ; when  the 
lightning  strikes,  they  say  it  is  the  gardener 
shooting  at  the  old  man,  and,  when  the  heat 
lightning  flashes,  they  say  it  is  the  great  chief 
flashing  his  glass  over  the  earth  in  search  of  his 
favorite  and  beautiful  wife. 


Why  the  Parrot  and  the  Minor  Bird  but 
Echo  the  Words  of  Man 

Long  ago  people  caught  and  nourished  the  sao 
bird,  because  it  learned  the  language  of  man 
more  readily  than  either  the  parrot  or  minor 
bird.  While  they  had  to  be  taught  with  much 
care,  the  sao  bird  had  but  to  hear  a word  and  it 
could  readily  utter  it;  moreover,  the  sao  bird  could 
utter  its  own  thoughts. 

Upon  a time  a man  of  the  north  country,  own- 
ing a sao  bird,  stole  a buffalo  from  his  neighbor 
and  killed  it.  Part  of  the  buffalo  the  man  cooked 
and  ate;  the  rest  he  hid  either  in  the  rice  bin  or 
over  the  rice  house. 

Seeking  the  buffalo,  next  day,  the  neighbor 
asked  the  man  if  he  had  seen  it. 

The  man  replied,  “No.”  The  sao  bird,  how- 
ever, cried  out,  “He  killed  it;  part  he  hid  in  the 
rice  bin,  part  over  the  rice  house.” 

The  neighbor  searched  in  both  of  these  places 
and  found  the  parts  just  as  the  sao  bird  had  said. 

“ I did  not  steal  the  buffalo,”  insisted  the  man. 

But  the  bird  ever  called,  “He  killed  it  and  put 
part  into  the  rice  bin,  and  part  over  the  rice 
house.” 


41 


42  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


Unable  to  decide  between  the  words  of  the 
man  and  the  words  of  the  bird,  the  neighbor 
appealed  to  the  court.  And,  it  happened,  the 
night  before  the  trial,  that  the  man  took  the  sao 
bird,  placed  it  in  a jar,  covered  the  jar  and  poured 
water  over  the  cloth  and  beat  on  the  outside  of 
the  jar.  The  noise  of  the  beating  was  low  and 
rumbling.  All  that  night  was  the  bird  kept  in 
the  jar,  and  not  once  did  it  see  the  bright  moon- 
light, which  was  almost  as  bright  as  day,  for  it 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  dry  season  and  full  moon. 
When  the  eye  of  day  opened,  the  man  removed 
the  bird  from  the  jar  and  placed  it  in  its  cage,  and 
then  took  it  to  the  court  as  a witness. 

When  the  bird  was  called,  it  said,  as  before, 
“ He  killed  it;  part  he  put  in  the  rice  bin,  and  part 
over  the  rice  house." 

All  people  believed  the  bird. 

“ Ask  it  another  question.  Ask  it  what  man- 
ner of  night  it  was  last  night.  Will  you  condemn 
me  to  death  on  the  word  of  a bird?"  cried  the 
man. 

The  question  was  put  to  the  bird,  but,  re- 
membering its  fear,  during  the  night,  of  the 
rumbling  noise  and  the  sound  of  running  water, 
it  answered,  “Last  night  the  sky  called  and  the 
rain  fell." 


Nature’s  Riddles  and  Their  Answers  43 

Then  the  people  cried,  ‘‘Of  a truth,  the  bird 
cannot  be  believed.  Because  it  has  imperilled  the 
life  of  an  innocent  man,  from  this  time  forth, 
the  sao  bird  must  not  be  cherished  by  man." 

The  thief  was  set  free  because  there  were  but 
the  words  of  the  bird  to  condemn  him. 

No  longer  is  the  sao  bird  nourished  by  man, 
but  lives  in  the  forest.  Those  who  are  full  of 
fear,  when  they  hear  them  talking  in  the  forest, 
say,  “ it  is  the  spirits." 

When  the  sao  bird  saw  the  bright  plumage  of 
the  parrot,  and  the  black  and  gold  of  the  minor 
bird,  it  knew  they  were  strangers  who  had  come 
to  dwell  in  the  north,  and  it  asked  the  crow  and 
the  owl  what  manner  of  birds  they  were. 

“Beautiful  in  plumage,  as  thou  canst  readily 
see,"  answered  they.  “Moreover,  they  speak 
the  words  of  man." 

“Speak  the  words  of  man,"  echoed  the  sao 
bird.  “I’ll  warn  them.  Come,  let  us  greet 
them."  And  they  went  forth  to  meet  the  beauti- 
ful strangers. 

And  upon  a day,  as  they  all  came  together  in 
one  place,  the  sao  bird  cried  out,  “We,  the  chief 
birds  of  the  north  land,  come  to  greet  you  and 
to  give  you  of  our  wisdom,  as  you  are  but 
strangers  in  our  land.  It  is  told  me  you  speak  as 


44  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

does  man;  even  so  can  I.  Nourished  by  the  hand 
of  man  many  years,  1 did  see  with  my  eyes  and 
hear  with  my  ears,  and  my  tongue  uttered  not 
only  the  things  I beheld  and  heard,  but  things 
displeasing  to  my  masters.  At  one  time,  all 
men  spoke  well  of  me,  but  afterward  was  I 
cruelly  punished  and  driven  from  the  homes  of 
men.  Therefore  come  1 this  day  unto  you  to 
warn  you  that,  if  man  learns  of  your  speaking 
tongue,  he  will  capture  you  and  nourish  you  in 
his  home.  Yet,  should  you  speak  other  than  he 
teaches  you,  you  will  be  punished  and  driven 
from  the  homes  of  men,  for  man  loves  only  to 
hear  his  thoughts  repeated  and  loves  not  even  a 
bird  that  has  wisdom  or  truth  greater  than  his 
own.” 

Fearful  of  uttering  their  thoughts,  lest  man  re- 
sent it,  the  parrot  and  minor  bird  but  echo  the 
words  of  man. 


The  Fatherless  Birds 


A mother  bird  sat  brooding  on  her  nest.  Her 
heart  was  sad,  for  her  mate  had  flown  away  in 
the  morning  and  had  not  returned.  When  the 
little  ones  stirred  and  clamored  for  food,  with 
drooping  wings  she  flew  in  quest  of  it  that  they 
might  not  hunger. 

Day  after  day  her  heart  grew  sadder,  for  her 
mate  came  not,  and  alone  she  struggled  to  pro- 
vide for  her  fledglings. 

When  the  little  birds  had  grown  strong  and 
were  able  to  fly,  sorrow  and  heart  hunger  had  so 
weakened  the  mother  bird  that  she  lay  dying. 
The  little  birds  crowded  about  her  asking  what 
they  could  do  to  aid  her,  and  with  her  dying 
breath  she  cried,  “Call,  oh,  call  your  father." 

The  little  birds,  flying  low  over  the  plains, 
cried,  “ Paw  huey,  paw  huey,"  and  children,  left 
alone  in  their  homes,  while  their  parents  labor  in 
the  rice  fields,  hearing  the  wail  of  the  birds, 
wept,  crying  too,  “ Paw  huey,  maa  huey." 1 

Never  has  the  father  bird  been  found,  and,  to 
this  day,  flying  low  over  the  plains,  the  little 
birds  cry,  in  their  plaintive  voices,  “Pawhiiey, 
paw  huey,"  and  lonely  children  echo,  “ Paw 
huey,  maa  huey." 

1 Paw  huey — Oh,  father  1 Maa  htiey — Oh,  mother ! 

45 


IV 


Romance  and  Tragedy 


The  Lovers’  Leap 


Many,  many  years  ago  there  lived,  on  the 
mountains  among  the  rapids  of  the  Maa  Ping,  a 
young  man  who  loved  a maiden  and  the  maiden 
loved  him  truly,  but  her  father  refused  his  con- 
sent to  their  union  and  commanded  that  his 
daughter  see  her  lover  no  more,  nor  hold  com- 
munication with  him.  At  all  times  and  in  all 
ways  the  father  of  the  maiden  endeavored  to 
overcome  her  regard  for  her  lover,  but  she  would 
think  of  no  other,  although  many  came  to  woo 
her. 

Often  did  the  young  lovers  seek  to  meet,  but 
so  constantly  were  they  watched  it  was  impos- 
sible and  they  could  only  wait  patiently.  Each 
knew  the  other  was  true  and  each  heart  rested  in 
this  assurance. 

And  upon  a time  the  father  of  the  maiden 
thought  she  had  forgotten  her  lover,  and,  greatly 
rejoiced,  he  made  a feast  and  invited  all  the  peo- 
ple of  the  province  to  come  and  make  merry 
with  him,  and  he  reasoned,  “Now  that  she  has 
forgotten  her  former  lover,  will  she  not  consent 
to  marry  a man  I choose  for  her  ?” 

49 


50  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

While  they  were  feasting  the  maiden  wan- 
dered out  to  think  of  the  one  she  had  not  seen 
for  so  long  and  weary  a time,  and,  suddenly,  the 
dark  evening  became  to  her  as  the  bright  noon- 
day, for  her  lover  was  before  her.  He  entreated 
her  to  come  with  him  and  to  be  his  wife.  Think- 
ing of  the  dreary  days  she  had  passed  and  the 
more  dreary  ones  to  come,  should  she  see  her 
heart's  choice  no  more,  she  consented.  As  they 
were  mounting  his  strong,  young  horse,  a serv- 
ant saw  them  and  ran  to  the  house  and  gave  the 
alarm.  Soon  the  father  and  all  the  men  were  in 
pursuit  of  the  lovers.  For  a time  the  young 
horse  kept  far  ahead  of  its  pursuers,  but,  weary- 
ing of  its  double  burden,  it  began  to  lag  just  as  it 
reached  the  top  of  a lofty  hill  overhanging  a 
rushing  torrent  of  the  river  far  below. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  father  and  all  the 
men.  The  only  escape,  and  a most  desperate 
venture  was  it,  was  to  leap  across  the  rushing 
torrent  to  the  hill  on  the  other  side.  Looking 
into  each  other’s  eyes,  then  back  at  their  ap- 
proaching pursuers,  and  then  at  the  wide  chasm, 
they  chose  death  together  rather  than  life  apart, 
and,  urging  their  jaded  horse  to  the  leap,  they 
missed  the  opposite  cliff  and  were  dashed  to 
pieces  on  the  rocks  of  the  rapids  below. 


The  Faithful  Husband1 


Upon  a day  in  years  long  since  gone  by,  Chow2 
Soo  Tome,  wearied  of  the  talking  of  his  slaves, 
wandered  into  the  forest.  As  he  walked  in  an 
unfrequented  path,  he  came  to  a lake  where 
seven  beautiful  winged  nymphs  were  disporting 
themselves  in  the  water.  One,  Chow  Soo  Tome 
readily  saw  was  more  beautiful  than  the  others, 
and  he  loved  her  and  desired  her  for  his  wife. 
On  seeing  the  Chow,  however,  they  all  fled,  but 
the  most  beautiful  one  permitted  herself  to  be 
overtaken. 

“When  I saw  thee,  my  heart  was  filled  with 
love  for  thee.  If  thou  dost  not  consent  to  be  my 
wife,  of  sorrow  will  I die,”  cried  Chow  Soo 
Tome. 

“Easily  could  I have  escaped,  had  not  love  for 
thee  made  me  loath  to  leave  thee,”  replied  the 
nymph.  And  in  great  joy  they  returned  to  the 
Chow’s  home. 

“My  son,  let  me  take  the  wings  of  thy  wife, 
lest  she  fly  and  leave  thee  in  sorrow,”  urged  the 

1 This  represents  a very  well-known  marrchen. 

2 Chow — a prince  or  high  official. 

51 


52  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


Chow’s  mother,  and,  readily  did  the  nymph  wife 
lay  aside  her  wings. 

But  it  happened  that  the  head  chow  heard  of 
the  beauty  of  the  wife  of  Chow  Soo  Tome,  and 
he  coveted  her,  and  seeking  to  do  away  with 
Chow  Soo  Tome,  he  sent  him  to  war,  and  com- 
manded that  he  lead  the  battle. 

The  young  nymph  wife  knew  the  design  of 
the  head  chow,  and,  as  soon  as  her  husband  had 
gone,  she  sought  her  mother-in-law  and  begged 
that  she  give  her  back  her  wings. 

“ I am  filled  with  sorrow.  Without  Soo  Tome 
I cannot  remain  in  the  house.  Give  me  my 
wings  that  I may  fly  in  the  air  and  be  com- 
forted,” pled  the  wife. 

“ Consent  that  I tie  a rope  to  thy  feet.  Then, 
I will  give  thee  the  wings,”  answered  Soo  Tome’s 
mother. 

The  young  wife  consented,  but,  having  donned 
her  wings  and  flown  up  in  the  air,  she  cut  the 
rope  fastened  to  her  feet  and  was  safe  from  the 
head  chow’s  pursuit.  Her  freedom  made  her 
think  of  the  home  of  her  father  in  the  kingdom 
of  Chom  Kow  Kilat,1  and  thither  she  flew. 

Chow  Soo  Tome,  unhurt  and  victorious,  re- 
turned from  the  war  and  found  his  home  desolate 


* A fabulous  city. 


Romance  and  Tragedy  53 

without  his  nymph  wife,  and  would  not  be  com- 
forted but  determined  to  seek  her.  '‘Now,  I 
will  go  seek  her  in  her  father’s  kingdom,  Chom 
Kow  Kilat,  though  seven  years,  seven  months 
and  seven  days  be  required  for  the  journey." 

Through  forest,  over  mountains  and  across 
plains  toiled  Chow  Soo  Tome  patiently.  And,  as 
he  journeyed,  upon  a day,  he  met  an  ape. 

‘ ‘ My  friend,  where  do  you  go  ? ” asked  the  ape. 

“To  a land  far  away,  where  the  love  of  my 
heart  abides,  in  the  kingdom  of  Chom  Kow 
Kilat.  The  way  I do  not  know,  but  my  heart 
guides  me,"  answered  Chow  Soo  Tome. 

The  ape  pitied  him  and  sought  to  aid  him,  and 
what  food  he  had  or  found  he  shared  with  Chow 
Soo  Tome  gladly.  Together  they  travelled  many 
days  until  they  reached  the  sea.  They  had  no 
means  of  crossing,  and  when  the  ape  realized  he 
could  no  longer  aid  Chow  Soo  Tome,  he  cried 
bitterly,  saying,  “No  longer  can  I aid  thee,  now; 
therefore  is  my  sorrow  greater  than  I can  bear," 
and,  lo,  he  died!  For  three  days  did  Chow  Soo 
Tome  mourn  this  kind  friend,  and,  as  he 
mourned,  a fly  came  to  eat  of  the  ape. 

“ I am  but  alive  and  fear  I will  die  if  I do  not 
have  food  at  once,"  said  the  fly.  “ The  ape  is  dead 
and  can  feel  no  pain.  I am  alive  and  hunger, 


54  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


thou  art  in  trouble  and  need  aid.  If  thou  wilt 
give  me  to  eat  of  the  flesh  of  the  dead  ape, 
whenever  thou  needst  me,  think  on  me  and  I will 
come  to  thee,”  added  the  fly. 

“Eat,”  said  Chow  Soo  Tome,  and  then  he 
went  on  his  way,  but  shortly  after,  sat  down 
under  a tree.  While  there,  he  saw  two  eagles 
alight  on  the  tree. 

“ When  we  are  rested,  we  will  fly  across  the 
sea  and  eat  of  the  feast  which  the  king  of  Chom 
Kow  Kilat  gives  in  honor  of  the  return  of  his 
beautiful  daughter,”  said  one  of  the  eagles  to  its 
mate. 

Hearing  these  words,  Chow  Soo  Tome  cau- 
tiously climbed  into  the  tree  and  crept  under  the 
wing  of  the  larger  eagle,  who  shortly  after  said 
to  its  mate:  “Before  we  fly  hence,  I must  rid 
myself  of  an  insect  which  is  under  my  wing 
and  annoys  me.” 

“This  is  a sacred  day,  and,  for  some  punish- 
ment has  the  insect  come  under  your  wing;  let  it 
remain,”  counselled  the  other  eagle,  and  then  they 
flew  over  the  sea.  When  they  rested  in  a tree 
on  the  other  shore,  Chow  Soo  Tome  crept  from 
under  the  wing  and  climbed  down  the  tree. 
After  a time  he  reached  a sala 1 near  a large  city. 

3 A rest-house  for  guests. 


Romance  and  Tragedy 


55 


Near  the  sala  was  a well,  and,  as  Chow  Soo 
Tome  rested,  seven  slaves  of  the  king  of  Chom 
Kow  Kilat  came  from  the  city  for  water. 

“Why  dost  thou  draw  of  the  water?"  asked 
Chow  Soo  Tome  of  a slave. 

“We  are  this  day  glad,  for  the  most  beautiful 
daughter  of  the  king  of  Chom  Kow  Kilat  hath 
returned  from  the  land  of  men  and  the  water 
will  be  poured  over  her  head,"  said  the  slave  ad- 
dressed. 

Approaching  the  seventh  slave,  Chow  Soo 
Tome  asked  that  he  might  place  a ring  in  her 
water  jar.  Now,  the  ring  was  one  which  he  had 
received  from  his  nymph  wife,  and  he  sought 
thus  to  turn  her  thoughts  to  him  again. 

“Pour  your  water  in  such  a manner  that, 
when  it  falls,  the  ring  will  fail  upon  the  hands  of 
the  princess,"  directed  Chow  Soo  Tome. 

The  slave  did  as  directed,  and,  as  the  ring  fell 
on  the  hands  of  the  young  princess,  she  knew 
her  husband  was  near,  and  she  asked  the 
slave  who  was  at  the  well  when  she  drew  the 
water. 

“A  chow  of  a far  country,"  said  the  slave, 
“ who  rests  in  the  sala  by  the  sacred  well  outside 
the  city  gate." 

In  great  haste  and  joy,  did  the  young  princess 


56  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


seek  her  father.  “ Outside  the  city  gate,  in  the 
sala  by  the  sacred  well,  doth  my  husband  await 
me.  Let  me  go  to  him,  father,"  she  pleaded. 

“ I must  first  prove  that  he  be  thy  husband. 
Let  all  my  daughters  make  ready  a table  spread 
with  the  best  of  the  feast,  and  hide  themselves. 
The  man  shall  be  called,  and,  if  he  selects  thy  table, 
he  is  thy  husband,  but,  if  he  knows  not  thy 
table,  he  shall  die,"  replied  the  king. 

The  tables  were  made  ready,  Chow  Soo  Tome 
was  summoned  and  commanded  to  select  the 
table  prepared  by  the  princess  whom  he  claimed 
as  his  wife.  Sore  perplexed,  Chow  Soo  Tome 
bethought  himself  of  the  flys  promise,  and  he 
called  it  to  his  aid.  Immediately  the  fly  appeared 
and  sat  on  the  table  prepared  by  the  wife  of 
Chow  Soo  Tome,  and  there  Chow  Soo  Tome  sat 
down. 

“Yet  another  test,"  said  the  king.  “Make 
ready  seven  curtains  and  place  my  daughters  be- 
hind the  seven  curtains,  allowing  but  one  finger 
of  each  princess  to  be  seen.  Then,  from  among 
the  fingers,  select  that  of  thy  wife." 

Immediately  did  the  grateful  fly  rest  upon  the 
curtain  where  lay  the  finger  of  the  young  wife, 
and  unhesitatingly  Chow  Soo  Tome  walked  up 
to  the  curtain  and  clasped  the  right  finger. 


The  Laos  Governor’s  Wife  at  her  Embroidery  Frame. 


Romance  and  Tragedy 


57 


“ It  is  enough.  She  is  thy  wife,”  declared  the 
king,  and  so  pleased  was  he  that  he  made  Chow 
Soo  Tome  second  in  power  in  the  kingdom  of 
Chom  Kow  Kilat. 


The  Faithful  Wife 


The  young  and  beautiful  son  of  a head  chow 
sought  of  a wise  man  what  manner  of  wife 
should  be  his. 

“ As  you  walked  by  the  way,  whom  did  you 
meet  ? ” asked  the  wizard. 

“No  one,"  replied  the  young  man. 

“Nay,  my  son,  you  saw  a slave  of  your  fa- 
ther's, cutting  grass  in  a garden.  She  is  to  be 
your  wife." 

Distressed  that  such  a woman  should  be  his 
wife,  the  young  man  fled  from  his  own  country. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  the  chow  saw  the 
slave  girl  that  she  was  kind,  noble,  and  beautiful, 
and  he  took  her  to  his  house  as  a daughter,  and 
she  became  more  kind,  more  noble,  and  more 
beautiful. 

Years  had  gone  by,  and,  upon  a day  the  son 
returned,  and,  seeing  in  the  one-time  slave  a 
most  lovable  and  lovely  woman,  sought  and 


58  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


gained  her  as  his  wife.  Word  reached  the 
young  man  then  that  this  was  but  a slave,  and, 
on  learning  the  truth,  he  begged  that  he  might 
be  released  to  go  on  a long  journey.  The  young 
wife  consented. 

A boat  was  made  ready,  and  the  chow’s  son 
had  it  in  his  heart  never  to  return.  So,  secretly, 
the  chow  had  a gold  image  hidden  in  the  bottom 
of  the  boat.  When  the  day  of  departure  had 
come,  the  chow  in  haste  sent  his  servants  to  in- 
quire of  his  son  what  he  had  in  the  boat. 

“1  have  but  my  possessions,”  replied  the  son. 

“Nay,  you  have  the  image  of  gold,  which  is 
the  possession  of  my  master,  the  chow,”  insisted 
the  servants.  “ If  we  find  it  in  the  boat,  what 
will  you  do?”  they  asked. 

“Return  with  you  as  a slave  to  my  father!” 
exclaimed  the  son. 

All  the  goods  were  removed  from  the  boat  and 
the  image  was  found.  Then  the  son  returned  as  a 
slave  to  his  father  and  was  made  keeper  of  the 
elephants. 

Upon  a day,  the  young  wife  of  the  son  came 
to  the  chow  and  sought  permission  to  go  to  the 
forest  to  find  her  husband. 

Willingly  did  the  chow  say,  “ Go,  my  child,” 
and  forthwith  he  had  a boat  put  in  readiness  for 


Romance  and  Tragedy  59 

her  and  sent  with  her  many  of  his  servants. 
One  servant  was  called,  “Eye  That  Sees  Well," 
another,  “ Ear  That  Hears  Well." 

Sailing  down  the  river,  they  reached  the  prov- 
ince where  the  young  man  was  searching  for 
elephants,  and  there  they  remained. 

The  chow  of  the  province  sent  a servant  se- 
cretly to  hide  a golden  image  in  the  boat.  But 
the  “ Ear  That  Hears  Well  ” heard  and  the  “ Eye 
That  Sees  Well " saw,  and  together  they  took  the 
image  from  the  boat  and  hid  it  in  the  sand. 

The  following  day,  the  chow  sent  a messenger 
asking  why  the  princess  had  taken  the  image. 

“I  have  not  seen  it,"  were  the  words  of  the 
princess. 

“ If  it  is  found  in  your  boat,  what  will  you 
promise  ? " asked  the  chow’s  messenger. 

“ I and  my  servants  will  be  slaves  to  him,  if 
the  image  be  found  in  my  boat,”  replied  the 
princess,  “but,  should  the  image  not  be  found 
there,  what  will  your  master  promise  ? " 

“All  his  goods  and  his  province,  if  the  image 
be  not  found,"  readily  answered  the  messenger. 

A diligent  search  failed  to  discover  the  image 
of  gold,  and,  true  to  his  word,  the  chow  gave  of 
his  goods  and  his  province  to  the  princess.  Re- 
joicing, and  hoping  thus  to  discover  her  husband, 


60  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

the  princess  gave  a large  feast,  and  bade  all  the 
people.  While  all  were  feasting,  lo,  a man,  in 
soiled  garments  and  carrying  a heavy  tusk  of  an 
elephant,  came  towards  them,  and  immediately 
did  the  princess  recognize  her  husband,  and  the 
husband,  realizing  after  what  manner  his  wife 
loved  him,  grew  to  love  her,  and  together  they 
lived  in  her  province  for  many,  many  years. 

An  Unexpected  Issue 

Far  away  from  other  men,  on  the  side  of  a 
lonely  mountain,  a man  and  his  wife  were  pre- 
paring their  ground  that  they  might  plant  the 
hill  rice.  Their  work  was  hard,  and  they  saw  no 
one  from  day  to  day,  and,  upon  a time,  when 
tired  of  their  labor,  the  husband  said, 

“Let  us  play  that  we  are  young  and  unmar- 
ried, and  that  I am  coming  to  visit  you  to  try  to 
gain  you  for  a wife.” 

The  wife  dressed  herself  as  a young  maiden, 
with  flowers  in  her  hair,  and  sat  at  the  spinning- 
wheel. 

The  husband  came  as  though  from  a distance, 
and  in  his  hand  he  carried  the  stem  of  a banana 
leaf,  which  he  pretended  was  a musical  instru- 


Romance  and  Tragedy  61 

ment.  Playfully,  he  drew  his  fingers  over  it, 
singing,  “It  is  pleasant  to  be  here.  Where  you 
are,  I am  happy.  Where  you  are  not,  I am  but 
of  little  heart  and  sad.”  He  drew  near,  and,  as 
he  was  not  forbidden,  he  walked  up  into  the 
house  and  sat  down  by  the  maiden.  Bowing 
himself  to  the  ground,  he  spoke,  saying,  “ O 
fair  princess,  I come  but  as  your  servant!  May 
1 sit  here  near  you  ? ” 

Smilingly  she  answered,  “To  sit  there  is  but 
a waste  of  time.” 

“ I am  not  sitting  where  another  has  sat.  Tell 
me,  do  I talk  to  one  who  has  another  lover?” 

“ I fear  that  the  one  who  loves  you,  and  whom 
you  loved  ere  you  came  to  me,  will  be  angry 
with  me  and  curse  me,”  she  coyly  answered. 

Then  he  feigned  anger,  and  moved  away 
quickly.  In  his  haste  he  did  not  see  where  he 
was  going,  and  he  fell  down  the  steps  of  the 
house,  upon  a stone.  Though  he  lay  there 
groaning,  and  called,  “O,  help  me!”  his  wife 
thought  him  still  in  sport  and  sat  quietly  at  her 
wheel.  Having  waited  some  time,  she  arose  and 
went  to  him,  and,  lo,  he  lay  there  dead! 

“ Had  we  worked  and  not  played  as  children, 
my  husband  would  be  yet  alive,”  lamented  the 
wife. 


V 

Temples  and  Priests 


The  Giants’  Mountain  and  the  Temple 


In  the  time  long  since  gone  by,  when  the 
world  was  young,  the  men  of  a large  province 
desired  to  build  a temple,  a temple  which  might 
be  seen  by  men  from  afar.  Their  ground,  how- 
ever, was  low,  and  there  was  no  lofty  mountain 
on  which  they  might  rear  it,  and  it  was  deemed 
wise  by  all  to  entreat  the  giants,  who  lived  in  the 
far  East,  to  help  them  bring  the  earth  together  in 
one  place  for  a mound. 

Willingly  did  the  giants  consent  to  aid  them, 
but  asked,  “Why  labor  to  dig  the  earth  and  pile 
it  into  a mound  ? Behold  the  high  hills  are  ours, 
with  our  strong  arms  we  can  remove  the  top 
from  one  of  them  and  bring  it  to  you  and  you 
may  rear  your  beautiful  temple  thereon,  and  all 
men  can  see  it.  Go,  therefore,  and  make  ready 
your  bricks  and  mortar,  bringing  to  one  place  all 
the  materials  which  you  will  require,  whilst  we 
carry  one  of  our  mountains  to  you  for  your  use.” 
The  giants  went  their  way  to  bring  a mountain- 
top  from  the  far  East  to  the  plains  near  the  city. 
Day  after  day  they  labored  and  moved  the 
mountain  top  a great  distance,  but  the  people 
65 


66  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


neither  helped  them  nor  did  they  even  commence 
to  prepare  the  materials  for  the  temple.  As  the 
giants  toiled,  word  was  brought  them  that  the 
people  were  sitting  in  idleness  on  the  ground. 

“Come  help  us,  or  gather  the  materials  to- 
gether,” the  giants  sent  word. 

“You,  yourselves,  offered  to  carry  the  moun- 
tain-top to  us.  Your  words  are  stronger  than 
your  deeds.  You  say  you  will  aid  us,  then  ask 
us  to  help  you,”  the  people  replied.  This  they 
said,  thinking  to  goad  the  giants  on  to  the  labor 
of  bringing  the  mountain-top  to  the  desired 
place. 

“We  offered  to  aid  you,”  retorted  the  giants, 
“but  you  sit  and  watch  while  we  do  all.  Had 
you  done  your  part,  we  would  have  done  ours. 
Now,  you  shall  labor,  and  we,  from  our  high 
mountain,  will  laugh  at  you.” 

Thereupon  they  left  the  work  and  sought  their 
homes,  and  wearily  did  the  men  of  the  plains  dig 
the  earth,  carrying  it  in  small  loads  into  one 
place  to  build  the  mound,  and  sadly  did  they 
look  toward  the  East,  where  they  could  see  the 
mountain-top  the  giants  had  carried  such  a dis- 
tance to  them,  and  most  bitterly  did  they  repent 
not  having  done  their  share. 

The  temple  is  builded  now,  and  from  afar  the 


A Group  of  Buddhist  Priests. 


The  Interior  of  a Buddhist  Temple. 


Temples  and  Priests 


67 


people  can  see  the  gleam  of  the  spire  when  the 
eye  of  day  first  opens  in  the  East,  or  closes  in  the 
West,  and,  to  this  day  the  mountain-top  lies 
there  far  distant  from  the  mountain  range  and 
equally  far  distant  from  the  city  of  the  plains, 
and  the  people  point  it  out  to  strangers,  saying, 
“If  you  ask  aid  from  others,  it  is  well  to  put 
your  own  heart  into  the  work.” 

Cheating  the  Priest 

Upon  a time  a man  and  his  wife  went  a day’s 
journey  from  their  village  to  the  bazaar  to  sell 
their  wares,  and  it  fell  upon  the  day  of  their  re- 
turn that  it  rained  heavily,  and  as  they  hurried 
along  the  highway,  they  sought  shelter  from  the 
head  priest  of  a temple.  He,  however,  would 
not  even  let  them  enter.  They  begged  to  be 
permitted  to  sleep  in  the  sheltered  place  at  the 
head  of  the  stairs,  but  this  also  the  priest  refused. 
Angered,  they  went  under  the  temple  and  there 
rested. 

When  the  priest  had  lain  down  on  his  mat  in 
the  room  just  over  the  place  where  the  man  and 
his  wife  were  hidden,  he  heard  the  man  say  to 
his  wife,  “ It  will  be  good  to  be  again  with  our 


68  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


young  and  beautiful  daughter.  I trust  all  is  well 
with  her.” 

Having  heard  these  words,  the  priest  arose 
hastily  and  called,  “ Come  up,  good  people,  and 
sleep  in  the  temple.  Here,  too,  are  mats  to  rest 
upon.”  And,  as  they  talked  of  their  beautiful 
daughter,  the  priest  asked,  “When  I am  out  of 
the  temple,  released  from  my  vows,  will  you 
give  me  your  daughter  to  wife  ? ” 

Looking  at  his  wife,  the  husband  replied, 
“ It  is  good  in  our  sight.” 

When  the  morning  came  and  they  wished  to 
steam  some  rice  for  their  breakfast,  they  had  no 
pot,  but  the  priest  freely  offered  the  use  of  his 
pot  and  insisted  upon  their  using  of  the  sacred 
wood  for  their  fire,  the  wood  which  was  used  in 
propping  the  branches  of  the  Po  tree. 1 

Being  ready  to  go  on  their  way,  the  priest  pre- 
sented them  with  gifts  of  food,  silver  and  gold, 
saying,  “I  will  soon  leave  the  priesthood  and 
come  to  marry  your  beautiful  daughter.” 

But  three  days  had  passed,  when  the  man  and 
his  wife  came  again  to  the  temple  and  told  the 
priest  that  their  daughter  was  dead,  and  a long 
time  they  all  mourned  together. 

“I  will  ever  remain  true  to  my  love  for  your 

1 The  sacred  tree  of  Buddhists. 


Temples  and  Priests 


69 


daughter.  Never  will  I leave  the  priesthood," 
vowed  the  priest,  while  the  man  and  his  wife  re- 
turned to  their  home,  spent  the  silver  and  gold 
the  priest  had  given  them,  and  cheerfully  laughed 
at  him,  for  never  had  they  had  a daughter  1 

The  Disappointed  Priest 

In  a temple  of  the  north  lived  a priest  who  had 
great  greed  for  the  betel  nut.1  One  day,  com- 
pelled by  his  appetite,  he  inquired  of  a boy-priest 
if  no  one  had  died  that  day,  but  the  boy  replied 
he  had  heard  of  no  death. 

A man,  while  worshipping  in  the  temple,  over- 
heard the  priest’s  words,  and  on  his  return  to  his 
home,  said,  ‘‘The  priest  wants  some  one  to  die 
so  he  can  have  betel  to  eat.  Let  us  punish  him, 
because  he  loves  the  betel  nut  better  than  the  life 
of  a man.  Make  me  ready  for  the  grave,  then 
wail  with  a loud  voice  and  the  priest  will  come." 

When  all  was  ready,  they  wailed  with  a loud 
voice  and  the  priest,  filled  with  cheerful  thoughts 
of  satisfying  his  appetite,  came  quickly. 

The  people  all  said,  “We  must  hasten  to  the 

1 Areca  nut.  Chewing  this  nut  is  a habit  common  among  all 
the  peoples  of  Farther  India  and  Malaysia. 


70  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


grave  with  our  dead  brother.  As  it  is  already 
evening,  we  will  not  have  the  feast  until  we  re- 
turn.” 

All  hastened  to  the  place  of  burning,  and,  upon 
reaching  it,  they  took  one  end  of  the  cloth  cover- 
ing the  body  and  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
priest,  while  the  other  end  they  left  on  the  body 
of  the  supposed  dead  man. 

“ While  you  ask  blessings  on  our  dead  brother, 
we  will  go  prepare  wood  for  the  burning,”  said 
the  people,  and,  leaving  the  priest  praying,  they 
returned  as  they  had  come,  cut  thorns  and  briars 
and  placed  them  on  and  about  the  path,  so  the 
priest  could  not  escape  unhurt.  Then  they  hid 
themselves. 

As  the  darkness  closed  about  him,  the  priest 
prayed  fast  and  loud.  Lo!  the  man  stirred  and 
groaned,  and  the  priest  cried,  “O,  my  father,  I 
am  asking  blessings  on  thee!  Why  movest 
thou?” 

Again  the  man  rose  up  and  groaned  even 
louder,  and  the  priest,  terrified,  ran  away  towards 
the  temple.  Caught  by  the  briars,  he  fell  head- 
long, cut  and  bleeding.  With  great  effort,  he  at 
last  reached  the  temple,  and  with  much  pain  had 
his  wounds  dressed  by  the  boy-priest.  Not  until 
he  had  rested,  did  he  inquire  of  the  boy  if  the 


Temples  and  Priests 


71 


people  of  the  dead  man  had  brought  any  betel  to 
the  temple  in  his  absence. 

“ No,”  said  the  boy-priest.  11  Go  to  the  house 
of  the  dead  man  and  eat  with  them.” 

But  the  priest  most  vehemently  said,  ‘‘If  ten 
or  twenty  men  die,  I will  not  go  again.  Die  like 
that  man!  1 shall  never  go  again.” 

The  Greedy  Priest 

In  the  compound  of  a temple  in  the  south  there 
was  a large  fruit  tree,  the  fruit  of  which  was 
coveted  by  all,  as  they  passed,  but  the  head 
priest  would  permit  no  one  to  eat  of  it,  because 
he  was  greedy  and  selfish  and  wished  but  to 
satisfy  his  own  appetite. 

Two  men,  talking  together,  said  they  would 
obtain  fruit  from  the  priest,  and  they  would  have 
it  without  price. 

One  came  and  asked  for  the  fruit.  The  priest 
refused  him  gruffly,  saying,  “I  need  it  for  my 
own  use.”  The  man  replied,  “I  desired  it  to  eat 
with  my  venison  curry,  of  which  I have  so  much 
that  I want  you  to  come  and  eat  with  me.”  On 
hearing  this  the  priest  said,  “Take  what  you 
want.”  Filling  his  scarf  with  the  coveted  fruit, 


72  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

the  man  left  the  priest,  saying,  “ I will  call  for 
you  as  the  eye  of  day  closes.” 

Shortly  after,  the  second  man  came  and  begged 
for  fruit  and  likewise  was  refused,  until  he  said 
he  wished  it  to  eat  with  his  pork  curry,  and,  that 
as  the  eye  of  day  closed,  he  would  come  for  the 
priest  to  eat  with  him,  when  the  priest  said, 
“All  you  desire,  take.”  And  the  man  filled  a 
large  basket  with  the  coveted  fruit. 

As  the  eye  of  day  closed,  the  two  men  called 
together  for  the  priest. 

When  they  reached  a fork  in  the  road,  one  laid 
hold  on  the  arm  of  the  priest,  and  said,  “ Come 
with  me  first,  my  house  is  down  this  way.” 
“Come  with  me  first,”  said  the  other,  “my 
family  will  already  be  eating.” 

Thus  they  disputed,  drawing  the  greedy  old 
priest  this  way  and  that  until  he  was  bruised  and 
tired,  when  he  said,  “It  is  enough.  I will 
neither  eat  of  the  vension,  nor  of  the  pork.” 

And  the  men  went  home  and  laughed,  for 
neither  had  the  one  venison  nor  the  other  pork. 


Monastery  Grounds  at  Chieng  Tung,  Laos. 


\ 


The  Ambitious  Priest 


There  is  a tale  of  an  old  priest  who  prayed 
each  day  that  the  gods  would  give  him  a jewel 
of  great  price — one  that  had  the  power  to  make 
him  fly  as  a bird. 

A young  priest  in  the  temple  hearing  his 
prayer,  secured  the  eye  of  a fish  and  hid  it  in 
his  room,  and  when  again  the  old  priest  prayed 
for  the  jewel,  the  young  priest  brought  the  eye 
of  the  fish  and  gave  it  to  him.  Then  was  the 
old  priest  glad,  “ Now  can  I rise  up  as  though  on 
wings  and  fly  from  this  earth,”  said  he. 

Selecting  two  large  palm  leaves,  thinking  “I 
must  have  wings  first,”  he  tried  to  fly,  but  could 
not. 

The  young  priest  said,  “From here  you  cannot 
fly;  it  is  not  high  enough.  Go  up  to  the  roof  of 
the  temple  and  fly  from  there.” 

Acting  on  this  suggestion,  the  old  priest  went 
up  to  the  roof,  but  fell  from  his  high  place,  and, 
lo,  when  they  came  to  him,  he  was  deadl 


73 


VI 


Moderation  and  Greed 


The  Wizard  and  the  Beggar 


Once  upon  a time  there  was  a poor  man  who 
ever  begged  for  food,  and,  as  he  walked  along 
the  road  he  thought,  “ If  any  one  will  give  me  to 
eat  until  I am  satisfied,  never  will  I forget  the 
grace  or  merit  of  that  person.”  Chanting  these 
words  as  he  walked  slowly  along,  he  met  a 
wizard. 

“What  do  you  say  as  you  walk  along,  my 
son  ?”  asked  the  wizard. 

“If  any  one  will  give  me  to  eat  all  I crave,  I 
will  never  forget  the  grace  or  merit  of  that  per- 
son,” said  the  poor  man. 

“ My  son,  the  people  of  this  day  are  ever  care- 
less and  ungrateful.  They  forget  benefits,”  re- 
plied the  wizard. 

“ I will  not  forget,”  vowed  the  poor  man. 

“Go  on,  my  son,”  said  the  wizard. 

Chanting  as  before,  the  poor  man  went  on  his 
way,  and  as  he  walked  he  met  a dog. 

“What  do  you  say  as  you  go  along,  my 
son  ?”  asked  the  dog. 

“ Whosoever  will  give  me  to  eat  to  my  satis- 
faction, the  grace  or  merit  of  that  person  will  I 
never  forget,”  replied  the  poor  man. 

77 


78  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


“Men  are  prone  to  forget.  None  remember 
favors.  When  I was  young  and  strong,  I 
guarded  my  master’s  house  and  grounds;  now, 
when  I am  old,  he  will  not  permit  me  to  enter 
his  gate,  but  curses  and  beats  me  and  gives  me 
no  food.  By  him  are  all  my  services  forgotten,” 
said  the  dog. 

Ever  chanting,  the  poor  man  walked  on,  and 
as  he  walked  he  met  a buffalo. 

“What  do  you  say  as  you  walk  along,  my 
son  ? ” asked  the  buffalo.  And  the  poor  man  re- 
peated what  he  had  told  the  wizard  and  the 
dog. 

“Man  is  ever  ungrateful.  When  I was  young 
and  strong,  I plowed  the  fields  so  my  master 
could  have  rice  and  my  master  was  grateful  to 
me.  Now  that  I cannot  work,  I am  driven  out 
to  die,”  said  the  buffalo.  And  the  poor  man, 
discouraged,  sought  the  wizard  again. 

“My  son,  will  you  ever  remember  benefits?” 
asked  the  wizard. 

“Never  would  I forget  a benefit,”  vowed  the 
poor  man,  vehemently. 

“Then  here  are  two  jewels;  one,  if  held  in 
your  mouth,  will  enable  you  to  fly  as  a bird;  the 
other,  if  held  in  the  mouth,  will  give  you  your 
desires,  and  this  second  one  I now  give  to  you,” 


Moderation  and  Greed  79 

said  the  wizard,  and  he  handed  the  second  jewel 
to  the  poor  man. 

"Your  grace  and  merit  will  ever  be  remem- 
bered by  me.  More  than  tongue  can  utter,  do  I 
thank  you.  Ever  will  I wish  you  health  and 
happiness  and  pray  for  blessings  on  your  head,” 
declared  the  poor  man.  Having  thus  spoken, 
the  once  poor  man  sought  his  home  and,  through 
the  virtue  of  the  wishing  jewel  he  had  every  wish 
for  wealth  gratified. 

"How  do  you  secure  your  desires?”  asked  the 
neighbors  of  the  once  poor,  begging  man. 

"A  wizard  gave  me  a wishing-jewel  and,  by 
simply  placing  it  in  my  mouth,  all  I wish  to  pos- 
sess is  mine,”  answered  he.  " Listen  to  me,”  he 
continued,  "the  wizard  has  yet  another  jewel, 
which,  if  placed  in  the  mouth,  will  enable  one  to 
fly  as  a bird.  Come,  let  us  go  and  kill  him  that 
we  may  all  possess  it  together.” 

With  one  accord  they  agreed,  and,  as  they  ap- 
proached the  home  of  the  wizard,  the  wizard, 
espying  the  man  he  had  so  benefited,  called  to 
him, 

" Why  have  you  not  visited  me,  my  son  ?” 

" There  was  no  time,  much  work  have  I had  to 
do,”  replied  the  ungrateful  man. 

Now  the  wizard  of  course  knew  the  intent 


80  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

of  the  wicked  fellow,  that  he,  with  his  neigh- 
bors, had  come  to  secure  the  second  jewel,  and 
he  asked, 

“ Why  do  you  desire  to  kill  me?” 

“Give  to  me  the  jewel  you  have,  else  I shall 
kill  you,  you  old  wizard,”  cried  the  ungrateful 
fellow. 

“Have  you  the  wishing-jewel  with  you?  If 
so,  show  it  to  me  first,”  said  the  wizard. 

Eagerly  did  the  greedy  fellow  thrust  it  toward 
the  old  wizard,  but  he,  having  already  placed  the 
flying-jewel  in  his  mouth,  seized  the  wishing- 
jewel  and  instead  of  giving  the  rascal  the  flying 
jewel,  flew  away,  leaving  both  the  man  and  his 
neighbors  without  either. 

A Covetous  Neighbor 

There  was  a poor  and  lonely  man  who  had 
but  a few  melon  seeds  and  grains  of  corn  which 
he  planted;  tenderly  did  he  care  for  them,  as  the 
garden  would  furnish  his  only  means  of  a living. 
And  it  came  to  pass  that  the  melons  and  corn 
grew  luxuriantly,  and  the  apes  and  the  monkeys 
from  the  neighboring  wilderness,  seeing  them, 


Moderation  and  Greed 


81 


came  daily  to  eat  of  them,  and,  as  they  talked  of 
the  owner  of  the  garden,  wondered  just  what 
manner  of  man  he  might  be  that  he  permitted 
them  unmolested  to  eat  of  his  melons.  But  the 
poor  man,  through  his  sufferings,  had  much 
merit,  and  charitably  and  willingly  shared  his 
abundant  fruit  with  them. 

And  upon  a day,  the  man  lay  down  in  the 
garden  and  feigned  death.  As  the  monkeys  and 
apes  drew  near,  seeing  him  so  still,  his  scarf 
lying  about  his  head,  with  one  accord  they  cried, 
“ He  is  already  dead!  Lo,  these  many  days  have 
we  eaten  of  his  fruit,  therefore  it  is  but  just  that 
we  should  bury  him  in  as  choice  a place  as  we 
can  find.” 

Lifting  the  man,  they  carried  him  until  they 
came  to  a place  where  two  ways  met,  when  one 
of  the  monkeys  said,  “Let  us  take  him  to  the 
cave  of  silver.”  Another  said,  “No,  the  cave  of 
gold  would  be  better.” 

“ Go  to  the  cave  of  gold,”  commanded  the  head 
monkey.  There  they  carried  him  and  laid  him 
to  rest. 

Finding  himself  thus  alone,  the  man  arose, 
gathered  all  the  gold  he  could  carry  and  returned 
to  his  old  home,  and,  with  the  gold  thus  easily 
gained,  he  built  a beautiful  house. 


82  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

“How  did  you,  who  are  but  a gardener,  gain 
all  this  gold?”  asked  a neighbor,  and  freely  the 
man  told  all  that  had  befallen  him. 

“If  you  did  it,  I,  too,  can  do  it,"  said  the 
neighbor,  and  forthwith,  he  hastened  home, 
made  a garden,  and  waited  for  the  monkeys  to 
feast  in  it.  All  came  to  pass  as  the  neighbor 
hoped;  when  the  melons  were  ripe  great  num- 
bers of  monkeys  and  apes  came  to  the  garden 
and  feasted.  And  upon  a day,  they  found  the 
owner  lying  as  one  dead  in  the  garden. 
Prompted  by  gratitude,  the  monkeys  made  ready 
to  bury  him,  and  while  carrying  him  to  the  place 
of  burial,  they  came  to  the  place  in  the  way 
where  the  two  roads  met.  Here  they  disputed 
as  to  whether  they  should  place  the  man  in  the 
cave  of  silver,  or  the  cave  of  gold.  Meanwhile, 
the  man  was  thinking  thus,  “I’ll  gather  gold 
all  day.  When  I have  more  than  I can  carry  in 
my  arms,  I’ll  draw  some  behind  me  in  a basket  I 
can  readily  make  from  bamboo,"  and,  when  the 
head  monkey  said,  “ Put  him  in  the  cave  of  sil- 
ver," he  unguardedly  cried  out,  “No,  put  me  in 
the  cave  of  gold." 

Frightened,  the  monkeys  dropped  the  man  and 
fled,  whilst  he,  scratched  and  bleeding,  crept 
painfully  home. 


A Lazy  Man’s  Plot1 

Upon  a day  a beggar,  who  was  too  lazy  to 
work,  but  ever  lived  on  the  bounty  of  the  people, 
received  a great  quantity  of  rice.  He  put  it  in 
a large  jar  and  placed  the  jar  at  the  foot  of  his 
bed,  then  he  lay  down  on  the  bed  and  thus 
reasoned : 

“ If  there  come  a famine,  I will  sell  the  rice, 
and  with  the  money,  buy  me  a pair  of  cows,  and 
when  the  cows  have  a calf,  I'll  buy  a pair  of 
buffaloes.  Then,  when  they  have  a calf,  I’ll  sell 
them,  and  with  that  money,  I’ll  make  a wedding 
and  take  me  a wife.  And,  when  we  have  a 
child  large  enough  to  sit  alone,  I’ll  take  care  of  it, 
while  my  wife  works  the  rice  fields.  Should 
she  say,  4 1 will  not  work,'  I’ll  kick  her  after  this 
manner,”  and  he  struck  out  his  foot,  knocking 
the  jar  over,  and  broke  it.  The  rice  ran  through 
the  slats  of  the  floor,  and  the  neighbors'  pigs 
ate  it,  leaving  the  lazy  plotter  but  the  broken  jar. 

1 The  motive  corresponds  to  that  of  the  venerable  story  of  the 
Milkmaid. 


83 


The  Ungrateful  Fisherman 

It  happened  on  a time  that  a poor  fisherman 
had  caught  nothing  for  many  days,  and  while  he 
was  sitting  thinking  sadly  of  his  miserable  for- 
tune, Punya  In,  the  god  of  wisdom,  came  from 
his  high  home  in  heaven  in  the  form  of  a crow, 
and  asked  him,  “Do  you  desire  to  escape  from 
this  life  of  a fisherman,  and  live  in  ease  ? ” And 
the  fisherman  replied,  “Greatly  do  I desire  to 
escape  from  this  miserable  life." 

Beckoning  him  to  come  to  him  and  listen,  the 
crow  told  him  of  a far  distant  province,  whose 
chow  lay  dead. 

“ Both  the  province  and  all  the  chow's  former 
possessions  will  I give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  promise 
ever  to  remember  the  benefits  I bestow,"  said  the 
crow. 

Readily  did  the  fisherman  promise,  “Never, 
never  will  I forget." 

Immediately  the  crow  took  the  fisherman  on 
his  back  and  flew  to  the  far  distant  province. 
Leaving  the  fisherman  just  outside  the  city  gate, 
the  crow  entered  the  city,  went  to  the  chow’s 
home,  and  took  the  body  of  the  chow  away,  and, 
in  the  place  put  the  fisherman. 

84 


Moderation  and  Greed 


85 


When  the  fisherman  moved,  the  watchers 
heard,  and  rejoicing,  they  all  cried,  “Our  chow 
is  again  alive.’' 

Great  was  the  joy  of  the  people,  and,  for  many 
years,  the  fisherman  ruled  in  the  province  and 
enjoyed  the  possessions  of  the  former  chow. 

But,  as  time  went  by,  the  fisherman  forgot  the 
crow  had  been  the  author  of  all  his  good  fortune, 
that  all  were  the  gifts  of  a crow,  and  he  drove  all 
crows  from  the  rice  fields.  Even  did  he  attempt 
to  banish  them  from  the  province.  Perceiving 
this,  the  god  of  wisdom  again  assumed  the  form 
of  a crow  and  came  down  and  sat  near  the  one- 
time fisherman. 

“O,  chow,  wouldst  thou  desire  to  go  where 
all  is  pleasure  and  delight  ? ” asked  the  crow. 

“Let  me  go,”  replied  the  chow.  And  the 
crow  took  him  on  his  back  and  flew  with  him  to 
the  house  where,  as  a fisherman  he  had  lived  in 
poverty  and  squalor,  and  ever  had  he  to  remain 
there. 


^8 

The  Legend  of  the  Rice 

In  the  days  when  the  earth  was  young  and  all 
things  were  better  than  they  now  are,  when  men 


86  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

and  women  were  stronger  and  of  greater  beauty, 
and  the  fruit  of  the  trees  was  larger  and  sweeter 
than  that  which  we  now  eat,  rice,  the  food  of 
the  people,  was  of  larger  grain.  One  grain  was 
all  a man  could  eat,  and  in  those  early  days, 
such,  too,  was  the  merit  of  the  people,  they 
never  had  to  toil  gathering  the  rice,  for,  when 
ripe,  it  fell  from  the  stalks  and  rolled  into  the 
villages,  even  unto  the  granaries. 

And  upon  a year,  when  the  rice  was  larger  and 
more  plentiful  than  ever  before,  a widow  said  to 
her  daughter,  “ Our  granaries  are  too  small.  We 
will  pull  them  down  and  build  larger.” 

When  the  old  granaries  were  pulled  down  and 
the  new  one  not  yet  ready  for  use,  the  rice  was 
ripe  in  the  fields.  Great  haste  was  made,  but 
the  rice  came  rolling  in  where  the  work  was  go- 
ing on,  and  the  widow,  angered,  struck  a grain 
and  cried,  “ Could  you  not  wait  in  the  fields  until 
we  were  ready  ? You  should  not  bother  us  now 
when  you  are  not  wanted.” 

The  rice  broke  into  thousands  of  pieces  and 
said,  “ From  this  time  forth,  we  will  wait  in  the 
fields  until  we  are  wanted,”  and,  from  that  time 
the  rice  has  been  of  small  grain,  and  the  people 
of  the  earth  must  gather  it  into  the  granary  from 
the  fields. 


At  Work  in  the  Rice  Fields. 


VII 


Parables  and  Proverbs 


“One  Woman  in  Deceit  and  Craft  is  More 
Than  a Match  for  Eight  Men” 

Chum  Paw  was  a maiden  of  the  south  country. 
Many  suitors  had  she,  but,  by  her  craft  and  devices, 
each  suitor  thought  himself  the  only  one.  Con- 
stantly did  each  seek  her  in  marriage,  and,  upon 
a day  as  one  pressed  her  to  name  the  time  of 
their  nuptials,  she  said,  “Build  me  a house,  and 
I’ll  marry  you  when  all  is  in  readiness.”  To  the 
others,  did  she  speak  the  same  words. 

Each  man  sought  the  jungle  for  bamboo  for  a 
house,  and,  it  happened,  while  they  were  in  the 
jungle  that  they  all  met. 

“What  seekest  thou?”  they  asked  one  an- 
other. “ What  seekest  thou  ? ” The  one  answer 
was,  “ I have  come  to  fell  wood  for  my  house.” 

And,  as  they  ate  their  midday  meal  together, 
each  had  a bamboo  stick,  filled  with  chicken  and 
rice.  Now,  it  happened  that  Chum  Paw  had 
given  the  bamboo  sticks  to  the  men,  and,  lo,  on 
investigation,  they  found  the  pieces  in  their  vari- 
ous sticks  were  the  parts  of  one  chicken,  and 
with  one  accord,  they  cried,  “Chum  Paw  has  de- 
ceived us.  Come,  let  us  kill  her.  Each  has  she 
promised  to  marry;  each  has  she  deceived.” 

89 


90  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


All  were  exceedingly  angry  and  vowed  they 
would  kill  the  deceitful  woman. 

Chum  Paw,  seeing  the  men  return  together, 
knew  her  duplicity  was  known  and  realized  they 
sought  to  kill  her. 

“ I entreat  that  you  spare  my  life,  but  take  and 
sell  me  as  a slave  to  the  captain  of  the  ship  lying 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river.” 

Relenting,  the  suitors  took  her  to  the  captain. 
She,  however,  running  on  before,  privately  told 
the  captain  she  had  seven  young  men,  her 
slaves,  whom  she  would  sell  him  for  seven  hun- 
dred pieces  of  silver.  Seeing  the  young  men 
were  desirable,  the  captain  gave  Chum  Paw  the 
silver,  and  she  fled  while  the  seven  lovers  were 
placed  in  irons. 

Chum  Paw  fled  to  the  jungle,  but,  frightened 
by  the  wild  beasts,  she  sought  refuge  in  a tree. 
And  it  came  to  pass  that  the  suitors  escaped  from 
the  ship  and  they,  too,  sought  refuge  in  the 
jungle.  Unable  to  sleep  and  also  frightened,  one 
of  them  climbed  a tree  that  he  might  be  safe 
from  the  wild  beasts,  and,  lo,  it  was  the  same 
tree  in  which  Chum  Paw  had  taken  refuge. 

“ Be  silent,  make  no  noise,  lest  the  others  hear 
us,”  whispered  Chum  Paw.  “I  love  you  and 
knew  you  were  wise  and  would  escape  from  the 


Parables  and  Proverbs 


91 


ship.  I only  desired  the  silver  for  us  to  spend 
together.” 

The  unfortunate  man  believed,  and  sought  to 
embrace  her,  but,  as  he  threw  up  his  arms,  Chum 
Paw  threw  him  down,  hoping  thus  to  kill  him. 
The  others,  hearing  the  commotion,  feared  a 
large  bear  was  in  the  tree  and  hastily  fled.  Un- 
injured the  suitor,  whom  Chum  Paw  had  thrown 
from  the  tree,  fled  with  them. 

Chum  Paw  seeing  that  they  all  fled  ran 
behind,  as  she  knew  no  beast  would  attack  her 
while  there  was  so  great  a commotion.  As  the 
suitors  looked  back,  they  saw  her,  but  mistook 
her  for  a bear  and  ran  but  the  faster,  and  finally, 
they  all,  the  seven  suitors  and  Chum  Paw  reached 
their  homes. 

Knowing  the  suitors  would  again  seek  her  life, 
Chum  Paw  made  a feast  of  all  things  they  most 
liked  and  bade  the  young  men  to  come.  (All 
the  food  was  prepared  by  Chum  Paw  and 
poisoned.)  “ I want  but  to  make  me  boon  be- 
fore I die,  so  I beg  you  eat  of  my  food  and  for- 
give me,  for  I merit  death,”  said  the  maiden,  as 
they  sat  in  her  house.  All  ate;  and  all  died. 

Chum  Paw  carried  six  bodies  into  the  inner 
part  of  the  house,  and  one  she  prepared  for  the 
grave.  Weeping  and  wailing,  she  ran  to  the 


92  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


nearest  neighbor,  crying,  “I  want  a man  to 
come  bury  my  husband.  He  died  last  night. 
As  he  had  smallpox,  fifty  pieces  of  silver  will  I 
give  to  the  one  who  buries  him.” 

A man  who  loved  money  said,  “ I will  bury 
him.”  When  he  came  to  the  house,  Chum  Paw 
said,  “ Many  times  has  he  died  and  come  back  to 
life.  If  he  comes  back  again,  no  money  shall  you 
have.” 

The  man  took  the  body,  made  a deep  grave, 
buried  the  man  and  returned  for  his  silver.  Lo, 
on  the  mat  lay  the  body!  He  made  a deeper 
grave  and  again  buried  it.  Six  times  he  buried, 
as  he  supposed,  the  body,  and,  on  returning  and 
finding  it  a seventh  time,  he  angrily  cried,  “ You 
shall  never  return  again.”  Taking  the  body  with 
him,  he  built  a fire,  placed  the  body  on  it,  and, 
while  it  burned,  went  to  the  stream  for  water. 
When  he  returned,  lo,  a charcoal  man  was  stand- 
ing there,  black  from  his  work. 

Filled  with  wrath,  the  man  ran  up  to  him  cry- 
ing, '‘You  will  come  back  again,  will  you?  will 
cause  me  this  trouble  again,  will  you  ? ” 

The  charcoal  burner  replied,  “I  do  not  under- 
stand.” Not  a word  would  the  man  hear,  but 
fought  the  burner,  and  as  they  struggled,  they 
both  fell  into  the  fire  and  were  burned  to  death. 


Parables  and  Proverbs 


93 


Chum  Paw  built  a beautiful  home  and  spent 
the  silver  as  she  willed. 

“The  Wisest  Man  of  a Small  Village  is 
Not  Equal  in  Wisdom  to  a Boy 
of  the  City  Streets  ” 

Once  a boy  of  the  city,  watching  a buffalo  out- 
side the  gate  of  the  largest  city  in  the  province, 
saw  three  men  approaching.  Each  was  the 
wisest  man  of  the  village  from  whence  he  came. 
The  boy  called  to  them,  “Where  go  ye,  old 
men  ? ” 

The  men  angrily  replied,  “Wherefore  dost 
thou,  who  art  but  a child,  speak  thus  to  us  who 
are  old  and  the  judges  of  the  villages  from  whence 
we  come  ? ” 

The  boy  replied,  “ There  is  no  cause  for  anger. 
How  was  I to  know  ye  were  wise  men?  To 
me,  ye  seem  but  as  other  men  from  a country 
place, — the  wisest  of  whom  are  but  fools.” 

The  three  men  were  very  angry,  caught  the 
boy  and  said,  “We  will  not  enter  into  the  city, 
but  will  go  to  another  province  and  sell  this 
insolent  boy,  because  he  neither  reverences  age 
nor  wisdom." 


94:  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

The  boy  refused  to  walk,  so  they  carried  him. 
All  day  they  walked  along  the  road,  carrying  the 
boy,  and  at  night  they  slept  by  the  roadside.  In 
the  morning,  when  they  craved  water  and  bade 
the  boy  go  to  a brook,  he  refused,  saying,  “If 
I go,  ye  will  run  and  leave  me.  I will  not  go." 

Thirst  drove  one  of  the  wise  men  for  the 
water,  and  the  boy  drank  of  it  freely. 

Several  days'  journey  brought  them  to  a wall 
of  a large  city,  and  night  was  spent  at  a sala  near 
the  wall.  Seeking  to  rid  themselves  of  the  boy, 
they  bade  him  go  to  the  city  for  fire  to  cook  food. 
Realizing  their  motive,  he  answered,  “Should  I 
go,  ye  will  leave  me.  I will  not  go,  though,  if 
ye  let  me  tie  ye  to  the  posts  of  the  sala,  then  will 
I go." 

With  one  accord  they  agreed,  saying,  “Do 
thou  even  so.  We  are  weary  carrying  thee  and 
cannot  go  for  the  fire." 

Tying  them  all,  the  boy  ran  to  the  city,  where 
he  met  a man  whom  he  asked,  “ Dost  thou  wish 
to  purchase  three  slaves?  Come  with  me." 

The  man  returned  with  the  boy,  saw  the  men, 
and  gave  him  full  value  for  each. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  his  captors,  the  cunning 
little  fellow  joined  some  men  going  to  his  native 
city,  and  as  he  walked  along,  he  thought,  “ I was 


Parables  and  Proverbs 


95 


ever  wanting  to  see  other  places,  and  now  I have 
been  carried  a long  journey,  and  have  silver  to 
last  me  many  days  . . . surely,  I have  much 

boon”  1 


“To  Aid  Beast  is  Merit;  To  Aid  Man  is 
but  Vanity”2 

A hunter,  walking  through  a jungle,  saw  a 
man  in  a pit  unable  to  escape.  The  man  called 
to  him,  “ If  thou  wilt  aid  me  to  escape  from  this 
snare,  always  will  I remember  thy  grace  and 
merit."  The  hunter  drew  him  out  of  the  pit,  and 
the  man  said,  “ I am  goldsmith  to  the  head  chow, 
and  dwell  by  the  city’s  gate.  Shouldst  thou  ever 
want  any  benefit,  come  to  me,  and  gladly  will  I 
aid  thee." 

As  the  hunter  travelled,  he  met  a tiger  caught 
in  a snare  set  for  an  elephant,  and  the  tiger  cried, 
“ If  thy  heart  prompts  thee  to  set  me  free,  thy 
aid  will  ever  be  remembered  by  me."  He  helped 
the  tiger  from  the  snare,  and  it  said,  “ If  ever 
thou  needest  aid,  call  and  I will  come  to  thee." 

1 Merit. 

* This  only  of  the  Folk  Tales  has  been  written  before.  It  is 
taken  from  an  ancient  temple  book  and  is  well-known  in  all 
the  Laos  country. 


96  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


Then  again  the  hunter  went  on  his  way,  and 
came  to  a place  where  a snake  had  fallen  into  a 
well  and  could  not  get  out,  and  the  snake  cried, 
" If  thou  wilt  aid  me,  I can  aid  thee  also  in  the 
time  soon  to  come,”  and  he  assisted  the  snake. 
“When  the  time  comes  that  thou  needest  me, 
think  of  me,  and  I will  come  to  thee  with 
haste,”  said  the  snake. 

Now,  it  had  happened  that  on  the  day  that  the 
hunter  had  rescued  the  tiger  it  had  killed  the 
chow’s  child,  but  of  this  the  hunter  knew  noth- 
ing. And  it  came  to  pass  that  three  days  after, 
the  hunter  desiring  to  test  the  words  of  the  tiger, 
went  to  the  forest.  Upon  calling  it,  the  tiger 
came  to  him  immediately  and  brought  with  him 
a long  golden  chain,  which  he  gave  to  the  hunter. 
The  hunter  took  the  chain  home,  and,  wishing  to 
sell  it,  sought  the  goldsmith  whom  he  had  be- 
friended. But  the  goldsmith,  seeing  it,  said, 
"You  are  the  man  who  has  killed  the  chow’s 
child.”  And  he  had  his  men  bind  the  hunter  with 
strong  cords  and  took  him  to  the  chow  in  the 
hope  of  gaining  the  reward  offered  to  any  who 
might  find  him  who  had  killed  the  child. 

The  chow  put  the  hunter  in  chains  and  com- 
manded he  die  on  the  morrow.  The  hunter 
begged  for  seven  days’  respite,  and  it  was  granted 


The  “Chow”  and  his  Palace. 


Parables  and  Proverbs 


97 


him.  In  the  night  he  thought  of  the  snake  he 
had  helped,  and  immediately  the  snake  came, 
bringing  with  him  a medicine  to  cure  blindness. 
While  the  household  of  the  chow  slept,  the  snake 
entered  and  cast  of  its  venom  in  the  eyes  of  the 
chow’s  wife,  and  she  was  blind. 

Throughout  all  the  province  the  chow  sought 
for  some  one  to  restore  the  eyes  of  his  afflicted 
wife,  but  no  one  was  found. 

It  happened  on  a day,  that  word  came  to  the 
chow’s  ears  that  the  hunter  he  had  in  chains  for 
the  death  of  his  child,  was  a man  of  wisdom  and 
knew  the  merit  of  all  the  herbs  of  the  field,  there- 
fore he  sent  for  him. 

When  the  hunter  came  into  the  presence  of  the 
chow  unto  where  the  wife  sat,  he  put  the  medi- 
cine which  the  snake  had  brought  him  into  the 
eyes  of  the  princess,  and  sight,  even  like  unto 
that  of  a young  maiden,  was  restored  unto 
her. 

Then  the  chow  desired  to  reward  the  hunter, 
and  the  hunter  told  him  how  he  had  come  into 
possession  of  the  golden  chain,  of  the  medicine 
which  the  serpent  had  given  him  because  he  had 
aided  it  in  its  time  of  trouble,  and  of  the  gold- 
smith, who  had  not  only  forgotten  benefits  re- 
ceived, but  had  accused  him  so  he  might  gain  a 


98  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


reward.  And  when  the  chow  learned  the  truth, 
he  had  the  ungrateful  goldsmith  put  to  death,  but 
to  the  hunter  did  he  give  half  of  his  province,  for 
had  he  not  restored  the  sight  of  the  princess  ? 


VIII 


The  Gods  Know  and  the  Gods  Reward 


Love’s  Secrets 


There  was  once  a poor  woodsman,  who  went 
to  the  jungle  to  cut  wood,  so  he  might  sell  it  and 
buy  food  for  his  wife  and  child.  And  upon  a day, 
when  the  cool  evening  had  come,  wearied,  the 
man  lay  down  to  rest  and  fell  into  a deep  sleep. 

From  his  home  in  the  sky,  the  god  who  looks 
after  the  destiny  of  man  was  hot-hearted 1 when 
he  saw  the  man  did  not  move,  and  he  came 
down  to  see  if  he  were  dead.  When  he  spake 
in  the  wood-cutter’s  ear,  he  awoke  and  arose, 
and  the  fostering  god  led  him  home.  As  they 
came  near  the  gate,  the  god  said,  “Stand  here, 
whilst  I go  and  see  to  the  welfare  of  thy  wife.” 
Listening  without,  the  god  heard  the  fond  wife 
say  to  the  little  child,  “I  fear  some  evil  hath 
befallen  thy  kind  father.  Ever  doth  he  return  as 
it  darkens  about  us.” 

The  god  knew  from  her  words  that  the  wife 
was  good,  and  taught  the  child  love  and  rever- 
ence for  its  father,  therefore  was  he  pleased,  and 
returning  to  the  woodsman,  sent  him  in  haste  to 
his  home,  and  said,  “I,  myself,  will  lay  the 
wood  in  its  place.” 

1 Anxious. 

101 


102  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

The  next  morning,  when  the  eye  of  day 
opened,  the  fond  wife  went  for  wood  to  build  a 
fire  that  her  husband  might  eat  of  hot  food  ere 
he  went  to  his  daily  labor,  and,  lo,  when  she  saw 
the  wood  which  her  husband  had  brought  home, 
all  was  turned  into  gold!  Thus  had  the  cherish- 
ing god  rewarded  a husband  faithful  in  his  work, 
and  a wife  loving  and  thoughtful. 

Leaving  the  house  of  the  worthy  woodsman, 
the  god  met  a man  tardily  wending  his  way 
home  with  a small,  poorly-made  bundle  of  sticks. 
Approaching  him,  the  god  said,  “Wait  at  the 
steps.  I will  go  first  and  see  how  it  is  with  thy 
wife.”  And  the  god  went  up  unseen,  and  heard 
the  wife  say  to  her  son,  “Ever  is  it  thus.  Thy 
father  thinks  naught  of  us;  he  stays  away  so  he 
need  be  with  us  but  little.” 

Sadly  the  god  returned  to  the  laggard,  took  the 
bundle  from  him,  and  bade  him  go  to  his  wife 
and  child,  saying  he  would  put  the  wood  in  its 
place. 

Late  the  following  day,  long  after  the  husband 
had  gone  to  his  work,  the  wife  went  for  some 
wood,  and,  lo,  found  all  the  wood  had  turned  to 
venomous  snakes!  Then  was  she  afraid,  and 
she  grew  kinder  of  heart  and  strove  to  make  her 
husband  better  and  happy. 


Poison-Mouth 


There  was  once  a poor  father  and  mother  who 
had  a little  daughter,  called  “ Poison-Mouth.” 
And  it  happened  on  a day  that  a great  number 
of  cows  came  into  the  garden,  and  when  the 
mother  saw  them  she  cried  angrily,  “You  but 
destroy  our  garden.  I would  you  were  all  dead.” 
“Poison-Mouth”  hearing  her  mother’s  angry 
words,  called  out,  “Die,  all  of  you,  for  you  are 
destroying  our  garden.”  And  immediately  all 
the  cattle  dropped  dead. 

Upon  another  day,  the  bees  were  swarming 
and  great  companies  flew  over  the  house,  and 
the  mother  said  complainingly,  “Why  do  you 
never  come  to  us  that  we  may  have  honey  ?” 
Little  “Poison-Mouth”  called:  “Come  to  us 
that  we  may  have  honey.”  And,  lo,  before  the 
eye  of  day  had  closed,  the  house  was  filled  with 
bees  and  the  poor  people  had  more  honey  than 
they  could  use. 

Word  of  “Poison-Mouth”  reached  a great 
chow,  and,  prompted  by  the  god  of  love  to 
sweeten  the  poisoned  mouth,  he  sent  ten  men 
with  this  message  to  the  child’s  parents:  “Take 
103 


104  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

good  care  of  your  child;  let  her  hear  no  evil,  and 
when  she  is  old  enough,  I will  take  her  to  wife.” 

When  the  men  approached  the  home  of 
“Poison-Mouth”  they  said,  “O,  poor  people,” 
but  the  mother  would  not  permit  them  to  finish, 
as  their  words  angered  her,  and  she  exclaimed, 
“You  are  bad  dogs!”  And  the  men  were  no 
longer  men,  but  dogs,  snapping  and  snarling, 
for  little  “Poison-Mouth”  had  also  cried,  “Bad 
dogs  are  you.” 

Though  greatly  distressed,  the  chow  sent  yet 
again  twenty  men  with  his  message.  And  again, 
when  the  mother  beheld  these  men,  she  ex- 
claimed, “See,  the  dogs  coming  yonder!” 
“ Poison-Mouth  ” echoed,  “Yes,  twenty  dogs  are 
coming  now,”  and  they  also  changed  into  dogs, 
fighting  on  the  streets. 

“Who  can  help  me?”  cried  the  chow,  dis- 
tressed though  not  despairing. 

An  old  man  answered,  “I  will  help  you.  I 
will  go  to  the  child.”  And,  while  the  mother 
was  absent,  he  sought  the  little  one,  and  thus 
softly  said,  “My  child,  thy  tongue  is  given  thee 
to  bless  with,  and  not  to  curse.  Come  with  me, 
and  learn  only  that  which  is  good.”  The  little 
one  answered,  “ I will  come,”  and  the  old  man 
took  her  to  the  chow,  who,  from  that  time  forth, 


Gods  Know  and  Gods  Reward  105 

spoke  no  evil,  and,  little  “ Poison-Mouth,  ” hear- 
ing none  but  beautiful  and  good  words,  grew 
beautiful  and  good,  and  her  words  brought  bless- 
ings ever. 

Strife  and  Peace 

There  was  once  a husband  and  wife  who  ever 
quarrelled.  Never  were  they  pleasant  with  each 
other. 

A wealthy  man  sought  to  see  if  they  could 
spend  but  a day  in  peace,  so  he  sent  two  men 
with  one  hundred  pieces  of  silver  to  them,  say- 
ing, '‘If  this  day  be  spent  without  strife,  this 
silver  shall  be  yours.”  Then  the  two  men  hid 
themselves  near  the  house  to  watch  after  what 
fashion  they  spent  the  day. 

“If  we  are  to  earn  the  reward,  it  were  better 
thou  shouldst  hold  thy  tongue  with  thy  hand, 
else  thou  canst  not  endure  throughout  the  day,” 
said  the  husband. 

“ Ever  am  I quiet.  It  is  well  known  of  all  the 
neighbors  that  thou,  and  thou  alone,  art  ever 
quarrelsome,”  retorted  the  wife. 

And  thus  they  disputed  until  both  grew  angry, 
and  the  quarrel  was  so  loud  that  all  the  people 


106  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

living  near  heard  it.  Thereupon  the  two  men 
came  forth  from  their  hiding-place,  and  said, 
“The  silver  does  not  belong  to  you,  of  a cer- 
tainty.” 

Determined  to  find  virtue,  the  rich  man  sent 
the  two  men  with  the  silver  to  a husband  and 
wife  who  never  quarrelled,  and  bade  them  say, 
“ If  this  day,  you  will  strive  one  with  the  other, 
these  one  hundred  pieces  of  silver  shall  be 
yours.” 

The  husband  greatly  desired  the  money  and 
sought  to  anger  his  wife.  He  wrought  a basket 
which  she  wanted  to  use  in  sunning  the  cotton, 
with  the  strands  of  bamboo  so  wide  apart  that 
the  least  wind  would  blow  all  the  cotton  out  of 
the  basket.  Yet,  when  he  handed  it  to  his  wife, 
she  pleasantly  said,  “This  is  just  the  right  kind 
of  a basket.  The  sun  can  come  in  all  about  the 
cotton,  as  though  it  were  not  in  a basket  at  all.” 

Again,  the  husband  made  a basket  so  narrow 
at  the  top  that  it  was  difficult  to  put  anything  into 
it,  and  also  the  mouth  was  of  rough  material  so 
that  the  hand  would  be  scratched  in  putting  in  or 
taking  out  the  cotton.  “Surely,  this  will  anger 
her,”  thought  the  husband. 

Turning  it  from  side  to  side,  the  wife  said, 


Gods  Know  and  Gods  Reward  107 

“Now,  this,  too,  is  just  right,  for  when  the  wind 
blows,  the  cotton  will  be  caught  on  the  rough 
wood  at  the  mouth  and  cannot  blow  away." 

The  two  men  in  hiding  all  day  heard  nothing 
but  gentle  words,  so,  in  the  evening,  they  re- 
turned to  the  rich  man,  saying,  for  they  knew 
not  the  efforts  of  the  husband  to  provoke  his 
wife,  “ Those  two  know  not  how  to  quarrel." 

Gladdened,  the  seeker  for  virtue  commanded 
them  to  be  given  the  silver,  for  they  loved  peace. 

The  Widow’s  Punishment 

Once  there  lived  a woman  who  had  a son  and 
a nephew  living  with  her.  And  upon  a day  they 
came  to  her  desiring  money  that  they  might  go 
and  trade  in  the  bazaar.  She  gave  each  a piece 
of  silver  of  equal  value,  and  bade  them  so  to 
trade  and  cheat  that  they  might  bring  home  much 
money. 

At  the  bazaar,  one  bought  a large  fish,  the 
other,  the  head  and  horns  of  a buffalo,  and,  as 
they  rested  by  the  roadside  on  their  way  home, 
they  tied  the  large,  living  fish  and  the  buffalo 
head  together,  and  threw  them  in  a muddy 


108  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

stream.  When  they  threw  the  stones  at  the  fish, 
it  jumped,  thus  causing  the  buffalo  head  to  move 
as  though  it  were  alive. 

A man  saw  the  head  in  the  water  and  desired 
to  buy  the  buffalo.  The  boys  named  the  price  of 
a live  animal,  and,  having  received  it,  they  fled. 

As  they  went  along,  not  long  after,  they  found 
a deer  which  a wild  dog  had  killed,  but  had  not 
eaten  of  it.  It  they  took  with  them,  and,  a 
drover,  seeing  it,  asked  where  they  had  found  it. 

“Our  dog,"  said  the  boys,  “is  so  trained,  it 
goes  to  the  jungle  and  catches  the  wild  animals 
for  our  food." 

The  drover  desired  to  buy  the  dog. 

“No,"  said  the  boys,  “we  will  not  sell  it." 

Their  words  but  made  the  drover  more  eager 
to  possess  the  dog,  and  he  offered  ten  of  his  best 
cattle  in  exchange.  The  exchange  pleased  the 
boys,  and,  having  received  the  cattle  for  their 
useless  dog,  they  hastened  to  a large  city,  where 
they  sold  them  for  much  money  and  returned 
home.  On  reaching  it,  they  divided  the  money 
equally,  but  the  mother  was  dissatisfied  and 
desired  that  her  son  have  the  larger  portion, 
therefore  she  insisted  that  they  make  an  offering 
to  the  spirit  in  the  hollow  tree  near  by,  before  the 
money  could  be  rightly  divided. 


Gods  Know  and  Gods  Reward  109 

While  the  boys  were  preparing  the  offering, 
the  mother  ran  and  hid  in  the  hollow  tree,  and 
when  they  had  made  their  offering  and  asked  the 
spirit,  “What  division  must  we  make  of  the 
money?"  a voice  replied,  “Unto  the  son  of  the 
widow,  give  two  portions — unto  the  nephew  of 
the  widow,  give  one  portion." 

Greatly  angered,  the  nephew  put  wood  all 
about  the  tree  and  set  fire  to  it.  Though  he 
heard  the  voice  of  his  aunt,  saying,  “ I beg  that 
thou  have  mercy  on  me  and  set  me  free,"  he 
would  not  recognize  it,  and  the  widow  and  the 
tree  perished.  Thus,  she  who  had  taught  him 
to  cheat,  by  her  own  pupil  was  destroyed. 

Honesty  Rewarded 

In  the  far  north  country  there  lived  a father, 
mother,  and  son.  So  poor  and  desolate  were  they 
that  their  only  possession  was  an  old  ax.  Each 
morning,  as  the  eye  of  day  opened  on  the  earth, 
they  went  to  the  woods  and  there  remained  until 
the  evening,  cutting  the  wood,  which,  when 
sold,  furnished  their  only  source  of  a living. 

Upon  a day,  when  the  cutting  was  done,  they 


110  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

placed  the  ax  near  the  wood  and  went  deeper 
into  the  jungle  for  vines  to  bind  the  wood.  It 
happened  the  chow  of  the  province  came  that 
way  with  twelve  of  his  men;  one  of  whom  bore 
an  ax  of  gold,  another  bore  an  ax  of  silver  and 
both  belonged  to  the  chow.  Yet,  when  the  chow 
saw  the  old,  wooden-handled  ax  lying  near  the 
wood,  he  commanded  that  it  be  taken  home  with 
them. 

The  family  returning  found  their  ax  gone. 
Deeply  distressed,  they  sat  down  and  wept,  and 
thus  in  trouble,  did  the  chow  and  his  men  find 
them  as  they  came  that  way  again. 

“Why  are  your  hearts  thus  troubled?”  in- 
quired the  chow. 

They  answered:  “O  chow,  we  had  but  one 

ax  and  it  is  gone  and  no  other  means  of  earning 
food  have  we!  ” 

The  chow  replied:  “I  found  your  ax.  Here 
it  is.”  And  he  commanded  they  be  given  the  ax 
of  silver,  whose  handle  even  was  silver. 

“ That  is  not  ours,”  they  cried,  “not  ours.” 

The  chow  commanded  the  ax  of  gold  be 
given  them.  Yet  they  wept  but  the  more,  say- 
ing, “ The  golden  ax  is  not  ours.  Ours  was 
old,  ’twas  but  of  steel  and  the  handle  of  wood, 
but  ’twas  all  we  had.” 


Gods  Know  and  Gods  Reward  111 


Their  honesty  gladdened  the  heart  of  the  chow 
and  he  commanded  that  not  only  their  own  ax  be 
returned,  but  the  ax  of  gold,  the  ax  of  silver,  and 
even  a pun 1 of  gold  be  given  them.  Thus  was 
merit  rewarded. 


The  Justice  of  In  Ta  Pome 

Men  of  three  countries  wanted  a chemical  to 
change  stones  and  metals  into  gold,  and  they  all 
came  together  to  worship  In  Ta  Pome,  one  of  the 
gods.  One  man  was  from  China,  one  from 
India,  and  one  from  Siam.  They  all  worshipped 
at  the  feet  of  In  Ta  Pome,  saying,  “We  beg 
thee,  O In  Ta  Pome,  give  unto  us  the  chemical 
which  will  change  all  stones  and  metals  into 
gold." 

In  Ta  Pome  replied,  “Each  of  you  kill  one  of 
your  children,  cut  him  into  pieces  and  put  him 
into  a jar.  Cover  this  with  a new,  clean  cloth, 
and  bring  it  unto  me." 

The  Chinaman  feared  to  kill  his  child,  so  killed 
a pig,  cut  it  up  and  placed  it  in  a jar,  over  which 
he  tied  a close  cover. 

1 About  3 lbs.  avoir. 


112  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

The  Siamese  did  the  same  with  a dog,  but  the 
Indiaman  believed  in  In  Ta  Pome,  and  killed 
his  only  son,  put  him  into  a jar,  and  covered  it. 

All  returned  to  the  god  with  their  several 
jars. 

In  Ta  Pome  sprinkled  the  jar  of  the  Chinaman 
first,  saying,  4 ‘Whatsoever  is  silver,  let  it  be 
silver;  whatsoever  is  gold,  let  it  be  gold,”  but 
the  pig  grunted,  as  pigs  do,  and  In  Ta  Pome  said, 
“ From  this  time  forth,  you  shall  take  care  of 
pigs  and  kill  them  to  gain  gold.”  Sprinkling  the 
jar  of  the  Siamese,  the  god  again  said,  “ Whatso- 
ever is  silver,  let  it  be  silver;  whatsoever  is  gold, 
let  it  be  gold,”  but  the  dog  barked,  as  dogs  do,  and 
In  Ta  Pome  said,  “ You  must  plow  the  earth,  and 
only  by  the  sweat  of  your  brow  shall  you  have 
enough  to  keep  you  in  food.” 

Taking  the  jar  of  the  Indiaman,  and  having 
sprinkled  it,  In  Ta  Pome  cried,  “ Whatsoever  is 
silver,  let  it  be  silver,  and  whatsoever  is  gold,  let 
it  be  gold,”  and  lo,  the  child  came  to  life!  And 
to  the  Indiaman  did  In  Ta  Pome  give  the  chemical 
that  changes  all  stones  and  metals  into  gold,  be- 
cause he  had  believed,  and  had  not  tried  to  mock 
and  deceive  the  gods. 


IX 

Wonders  of  Wisdom 


» 


The  Words  of  Untold  Value 


In  the  days  long  since  gone  by,  a young  man, 
a son  of  a poor  widow,  desired  to  go  with  two 
of  his  friends  to  Tuck  Kasula,1  the  country  where 
one  could  learn  the  wisdom  of  all  the  world,  but 
he  had  no  gold  with  which  to  buy  the  wisdom, 
for  does  not  every  one  know  that  wisdom  is 
difficult  to  obtain,  and  is  therefore  of  great  price. 

Now,  the  two  young  friends  had  each  two 
puns2  of  gold,  but  the  widow’s  son  had  but  two 
hairs  of  his  mother’s,  which,  when  he  wept  be- 
cause he  had  no  money,  the  widow  had  given 
him,  saying,  “I  have  naught  but  these  two  fine 
hairs  to  give  thee,  my  son,  but  go  with  thy 
friends,  each  hair  will  be  to  thee  as  a pun  of 
gold.” 

Then  the  son  placed  the  two  hairs  in  a package 
with  his  clothing,  and  sealed  the  package  with 
wax,  and  set  out  with  his  friends  to  visit  Tuck 
Kasula. 

After  they  had  travelled  some  time,  they  grew 
hungry,  and  on  arriving  in  a village,  they  entered 

1 A fabulous  “ City  of  Wisdom.” 

s A pun — about  3 lbs.  avoir. 

115 


116  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

a house  for  food.  The  widow’s  son  left  his 
package  and  his  other  goods  on  the  veranda. 
While  he  was  within  the  house  a hen  ran  away 
with  the  package  and  lost  it.  The  owners  of  the 
hen  offered  the  son  anything  they  had  either  of 
food  or  clothing  to  replace  his  loss,  but  he  would 
be  content  with  nothing  but  the  hen,  and  they 
gave  it  to  him. 

And  again  when  they  entered  another  house 
for  food,  the  widow’s  son  tied  the  hen  to  a small 
bush  in  the  compound,  and,  lo,  an  elephant 
stepped  upon  it  and  killed  it! 

The  people  offered  the  young  man  many  things 
to  make  good  his  loss,  but  he  would  be  content 
with  nothing  but  the  elephant,  and  they  gave 
him  the  elephant. 

At  last  they  reached  Tuck  Kasula,  and  while 
his  two  friends,  with  their  gold,  sought  the  house 
of  the  teachers,  the  widow’s  son  stayed  under  a 
tree  where  he  could  hear  the  teachers  instructing 
their  disciples. 

“If  you  wish  to  know  others,  sleep.  If  you 
wish  to  see,  go  and  look,”  said  a wise  man. 
“These  words  are  of  untold  value,  but,  for  only 
two  puns  of  gold  will  I give  them  unto  you,”  he 
added. 

The  widow’s  son  knew  he  had  heard  without 


Wonders  of  Wisdom 


117 


price  the  wisdom  for  which  his  two  friends 
would  each  have  to  pay  two  puns  of  gold,  so  he 
quietly  turned  the  elephant  and  returned  home. 

“I  will  buy  your  words  of  wisdom,  if  you 
will  sell  them,”  said  the  judge  to  the  widow’s 
son. 

“For  two  puns  of  gold  I will  sell  them,”  an- 
swered the  widow’s  son. 

“Two  puns  of  gold  will  I give  thee,”  said  the 
judge. 

“ ‘If  you  wish  to  know  others,  sleep.  If  you 
wish  to  see,  go  and  look,’”  said  the  widow’s 
son,  when  he  had  in  his  possession  the  two  puns 
of  gold. 

The  judge,  desiring  to  test  the  truth  of  the 
words,  as  he  understood  them,  called  unto  him 
his  four  wives,  and  said,  “I  am  not  well.  Give 
me  water  to  drink,  and  fan  me.”  Soon  he 
seemed  to  be  asleep,  and  his  wives  talked  thus 
together  in  low  voices: 

“It  is  not  pleasant  to  be  the  wife  of  this  foolish 
man,”  said  the  first. 

“I  like  another  man  better,”  said  the  second. 

“I  wish  I could  steal  his  goods  and  flee  while 
he  sleeps,”  said  the  third. 

“I  would  like  to  make  him  a savory  dish  with 
poison  in  it  to  kill  him,”  said  the  fourth. 


118  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

Then  the  judge  sprang  up  and  cruelly  punished 
his  wives  and  put  them  in  chains. 

And  upon  another  day,  the  judge  arose  early 
and  went  out  to  see  how  his  slaves  worked. 
Under  the  house,  hunting  for  something,  he  saw 
a man. 

“What  do  you  seek?”  asked  the  judge. 

“I  have  just  stolen  from  the  judge  all  of  his 
silver,  and,  in  trying  to  get  it  through  a small 
opening,  I broke  my  finger-nail.  If  I do  not  find 
it,  the  judge  will  die  and  all  his  possessions  will 
be  destroyed,  for,  as  thou  knowest,  ever  is  it 
thus,  if  a finger-nail  falls  near  a house.” 

When  the  man  had  found  the  broken  nail,  the 
judge  said,  “I,  who  stand  here,  am  the  judge. 
I will  but  take  from  you  the  silver  which  you 
have  stolen  and  no  punishment  shall  be  yours, 
because  of  the  truth  which  you  have  told.”  Then 
the  judge  said  to  himself,  “The  two  puns  of 
gold  was  a small  price  to  pay  for  the  wisdom 
which  I have  obtained.” 


A Wise  Philosopher 


As  a rich  trader  journeyed  to  another  province, 
he  rested  by  the  road  under  a tree,  and,  as  he  sat 
there,  a poor  young  man  approached  and  asked 
that  he  might  accompany  him. 

“Come,”  said  the  trader,  and,  as  they  jour- 
neyed, they  came  to  a place  where  there  were 
many  stones,  indeed  there  was  naught  else  to  be 
seen. 

“Here  are  there  no  stones,”  said  the  poor 
young  man. 

“You  are  right,  here  are  no  stones,”  replied 
the  trader. 

Soon  they  reached  the  shade  of  a large  forest, 
and  the  young  man  said, 

“ Here  are  no  trees.” 

“You  are  right,  here  are  no  trees,”  the  trader 
assented. 

When  they  reached  a large  village,  the  poor 
young  man  said, 

“ Here  are  no  people.” 

“You  are  right,”  spake  the  trader,  but  he 
wondered  what  manner  of  man  might  he  be 
who  knows  nothing  and  has  neither  eyes  nor 
ears.  However,  as  he  returned  home  and  the 

119 


120  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

poor  young  man  begged  to  accompany  him,  he 
agreed  and  took  him  with  him. 

And,  as  they  approached  the  trader’s  home 
his  daughter  called,  “O  father,  what  have  you 
brought  ?” 

“ Nothing  but  this  foolish  young  man,"  an- 
swered the  trader. 

“Why  do  you  call  him  a fool?”  asked  the 
daughter.  “ By  his  appearance  and  manner  I 
would  judge  he  were  the  god  of  wisdom  come 
down  in  man’s  form.” 

“I  can  see  no  wisdom  in  one  who,  when  he 
can  see  but  stones,  says,  ‘There  are  no  stones 
here,’  or,  when  he  is  in  the  forest,  says,  ‘ Here  are 
no  trees/  or,  when  in  the  midst  of  a populous 
village,  says,  ‘There  is  no  man  here,' ” replied 
the  trader. 

“ He  meant,  where  the  stones  were  all  about, 
that  none  were  precious ; where  the  forest  was, 
that  there  was  no  teak,  no  wood  good  for  man’s 
use;  and,  where  the  village  was,  there  were  no 
people,  as  the  people  had  all  fallen  away  from 
the  religion  of  Buddha,  living  but  as  beasts  and 
making  no  merit  for  the  future  life,”  argued  the 
daughter. 

“If  you  esteem  him  so  highly,  take  him  for 
your  husband,”  said  the  trader. 


Wonders  of  Wisdom 


121 


“If  your  daughter  will  have  me  as  her  hus- 
band, ever  will  I endeavor  to  make  the  path  on 
which  she  treads  smooth  and  beautiful  for  her 
feet,”  cried  the  poor  young  man. 

They  were  married  and  lived  happily,  and, 
upon  a time,  the  head  chow  summoned  the 
trader  to  come  watch  his  house  during  the  night. 
Greatly  was  the  trader  troubled.  “I  shall  die 
this  night,”  cried  the  trader. 

“Why  shall  you  die,  my  father?”  asked  the 
son-in-law,  in  great  concern. 

“The  chow  has  called  me  to  watch  this  night 
and  for  some  time  past  he  has  killed  all  who  have 
watched  for  him;  an  evil  spirit  has  possessed 
him  and  he  loves  to  punish  with  death  the 
watchmen,  for,  he  falsely  says  they  sleep  and  he 
has  them  killed  but  to  satisfy  the  spirit  in  him,” 
answered  the  trader. 

“I  will  watch  in  thy  stead,”  said  the  son-in- 
law.  And  fearlessly  did  he  go  to  the  chow’s, 
and,  when  midnight  was  come  and  the  chow 
descended  secretly  to  see  if  the  watchman  slept, 
lo,  the  young  man  prayed  aloud  for  the  god  of 
wisdom  to  come  teach  him  what  to  do.  The 
chow,  hearing  the  sound  of  voices,  listened,  and 
heard  one  voice  say,  “The  brave  and  the  strong 
govern  themselves,  then  have  they  the  power  to 


122  Laos  Folk-Lore  of*  Farther  India 

govern  others.  The  wise  make  themselves  loved 
because  they  are  good  and  true,  and  are  served 
by  others  through  love  and  not  through  fear,” 
and  another  voice  steadily  repeated  the  words. 
Three  times  during  the  night  came  the  chow. 
Each  time  the  voice  was  speaking  and  being  an- 
swered, and,  lo,  when  the  eye  of  day  opened  in 
the  East,  the  chow  was  found  possessed  of  a 
kind  and  loving  spirit  and  no  longer  desired  to 
destroy  his  people.  The  young  son-in-law  of 
the  trader  was  made  a leader  of  the  people,  for 
the  chow  declared  unto  all  that  the  spirit  of  the 
god  of  wisdom  dwelt  in  the  young  man’s  heart, 
and,  it  came  to  pass  that  the  whole  land  was 
blessed  because  one  young  man  had  learned  of 
the  god  of  wisdom. 

The  Boys  Who  Were  Not  Appreciated 

Once  there  were  two  brothers.  The  elder 
watched  and  tended  the  younger  during  the  day, 
while  their  mother  went  to  labor  for  food.  It 
had  happened  that  the  father  had  died,  and  the 
mother  had  taken  another  husband  who  ever 
sought  to  teach  the  mother  to  dislike  and  neglect 
the  brothers. 


Wonders  of  Wisdom 


123 


And  it  fell  upon  a day  that  the  children  waited 
and  watched  for  their  mother’s  return  until  they 
were  hungry,  for  all  day  had  they  had  no  food. 
When  the  eye  of  day  closed,  they  sought  food 
and  found  some  green  fruit.  This  they  ate  and 
then  lay  down  to  sleep. 

Long  after  darkness  had  settled,  came  the 
mother  and  her  husband  home,  and  the  mother 
cooked  rice  which  they  sat  down  to  eat. 

Awakened  by  the  odor  of  the  rice,  the  children 
heard  the  talking,  and  the  elder  led  his  younger 
brother  to  his  mother  and  begged  food,  but  the 
husband  said,  “Do  not  give  them  of  our  food,” 
and  the  mother  beat  them  and  drove  them  from 
home.  The  elder  brother  carried  his  little  brother 
back  to  sleep  under  the  house,  but  even  thence 
were  they  driven.  At  last  they  sought  and  found 
shelter  with  a neighboring  widow,  who  gave 
them  mats  to  sleep  on.  As  the  eye  of  day 
opened,  the  two  children  set  out  to  find  a new 
home.  For  many  days  did  they  walk,  and  upon 
an  evening  they  found  a sala  near  the  chief  city 
of  another  province.  There  they  slept.  In  the 
morning  the  elder  boy  sought  food,  and  behold, 
he  saw  two  snakes  wrestling  under  the  sala. 
Both  were  wounded.  One,  however,  killed  the 
other  and  then  left  it  and  ate  some  grass  growing 


124  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

near,  and,  lo,  immediately  the  snake  was  whole 
as  before.  Waiting  only  until  the  restored  snake 
had  gone,  the  boy  gathered  some  of  the  grass, 
and  put  it  in  the  mouth  of  the  dead  snake,  and 
forthwith  it  came  to  life  and  blessed  the  boy. 
Gathering  more  of  the  grass,  the  boy  returned  to 
his  brother  and  they  both  ate  of  it  and  were 
strengthened. 

Not  long  after,  a servant  of  the  chow  of  the 
neighboring  province  came  to  the  sala,  and  the 
boys  asked,  “ For  whom  is  the  mourning  in  the 
city  ? ” The  servant  replied,  “ The  young  daugh- 
ter of  the  chow;  and  the  chow  mourns.  If  any 
one  will  restore  her  unto  life,  the  chow  declares, 
unto  him  will  he  give  half  of  his  province  and 
goods." 

Eager  to  try  the  wonderful  grass,  the  boy  car- 
ried his  young  brother  and  some  of  the  grass 
even  unto  the  chow’s  house,  where  he  sought 
permission  to  restore  the  child  with  the  grass. 
Gladly  the  chow  consented.  The  boy  placed  the 
magic  grass  in  the  maiden’s  mouth,  and  immedi- 
ately she  came  to  life.  Full  of  joy,  the  chow 
shared  his  province  and  goods  with  him  and  even 
gave  his  daughter  in  marriage,  as  promised. 

And  upon  a day  after  they  had  lived  happily  a 
long  time  in  that  province  and  had  grown  wise 


Wonders  of  Wisdom 


125 


and  strong,  the  two  young  men  thought  of  their 
mother,  and  said,  “ We  will  go  and  visit  her  and 
her  husband.” 

They  made  ready  joints  of  bamboo  and  closed 
them,  after  having  filled  them  with  gold,  in  such 
a way  that  no  one  could  see  the  gold.  When  all 
was  ready,  with  a great  number  of  elephants  and 
servants,  they  returned  to  their  native  province. 

On  reaching  their  home,  they  gave  of  the  bam- 
boo joints  to  their  friends  and  relatives,  one  each, 
but  to  their  mother  and  her  husband,  gave  they 
five  of  the  largest  joints,  and  two  of  the  largest 
gave  they  to  the  kind  widow. 

“ The  bamboo  makes  fine  firewood,”  they  said 
to  their  mother.  “ Cut  it  up  and  burn  it.” 

The  mother  and  her  husband  were  angry  and 
would  not  speak  to  the  sons  who  had  brought 
but  wood  as  a gift,  and  sorrowfully  they  returned 
to  the  other  province. 

Upon  a day  the  widow  visited  the  mother  and 
urged  that  she  cut  the  bamboo  joints. 

“ Your  sons  say  that  the  bamboo  makes  a good 
firewood.  Where  is  yours  ?”  the  widow  asked. 

The  mother  replied,  “ It  is  outside.  Our  chil- 
dren came  from  a great  distance  and  brought  to 
us  but  this  firewood.  We  shall  never  touch  it.” 

But  the  widow  urged,  “I  would  believe  and 


126  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

trust  the  love  of  my  children.  I beg  that  you  cut 
up  the  wood.”  At  last  they  did  so,  and  when 
the  husband  cut  into  the  joints,  lo,  he  found  them 
all  gold.  Then  ran  they  both  to  find  the  sons  to 
thank  them,  but  they  were  already  too  far  dis- 
tant. Unable  to  endure  their  remorse,  there  the 
mother  and  her  husband  died  on  the  wayside. 

The  Magic  Well 

The  chow  of  a large  province  lay  ill.  All  the 
doctors  of  many  provinces  were  summoned,  but 
none  could  aid  him,  nor  could  any  understand 
his  malady.  Lying  in  his  house  one  day,  an  old 
man  begged  he  might  see  him,  saying  he  had  a 
message  from  the  spirits.  Brought  into  the 
presence  of  the  chow,  the  old  man  said,  “ Last 
night,  as  I lay  on  my  bed,  I had  this  vision.  A 
spirit  came  to  me  and  touched  me  and  led  me  to 
the  river’s  brink.  There  I saw  a boat  prepared 
for  my  use.  I entered  the  boat  and  it  was  rowed 
swiftly  by  unseen  hands  down  the  stream. 
After  a little  time,  it  stopped  at  the  foot  of  a tall 
mountain.  Up  this  the  spirit  led  me,  and  through 
which  was  no  path.  We  journeyed  until  we 


Wonders  of  Wisdom  127 

reached  the  mountain’s  top.  On  its  summit 
were  two  great  walls  of  rock,  and  between  the 
walls  was  a gate,  looking  like  a gate  which  led 
into  a city.  Leading  me  to  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain,  the  spirit  bade  me  ascend  the  rock 
where  the  foot  of  man  had  never  before  trod, 
and,  far  up  in  the  face  of  the  rock,  I saw  a small 
opening,  like  the  mouth  of  a well.  I lay  down 
and  stretched  my  arm  to  its  full  length,  but 
failed  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  opening.  By 
the  side  of  this  opening,  on  looking  more  closely, 
I beheld  a cup  tied  to  the  end  of  a staff.  With 
the  cup  I dipped  pure  water  from  the  well. 
About  to  drink  of  the  water,  the  spirit  restrained 
me  and  commanded  I should  come  to  thee  and 
tell  thee  this  water,  and  this  water  alone,  would 
heal  thee.  Therefore  have  I come,  O prince,  to 
lead  thee  unto  this  place.” 

The  prince  did  not  doubt  him,  but  commanded 
the  boats  be  prepared  for  his  use.  Taking  with 
him  a large  retinue  of  servants,  and  guided  by 
the  aged  man,  they  departed  in  search  of  the 
health-restoring  well. 

After  just  such  a journey  as  the  man  had 
described,  at  his  bidding,  the  boats  landed  at  the 
foot  of  a tall  mountain,  where  he  led  them  un- 
erringly upward,  although  no  path  could  be 


128  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

seen;  the  chow,  leaning  on  the  arms  of  two 
strong  men,  followed. 

There  indeed  were  the  walls  of  rock  and  the 
gateway,  as  the  guide  had  described,  and,  after 
a long  and  weary  climb,  they  reached  the  open- 
ing in  the  rock. 

Taking  the  staff  of  the  chow  and  binding  his 
golden  drinking-cup  thereto,  the  aged  man 
dipped  from  the  well  and  gave  it  to  the  prince  to 
drink.  Having  drank  of  the  water,  and  having 
poured  it  on  his  head  and  hands,  the  chow  was 
healed  of  his  sickness,  and  was  as  a new  man. 
And  to  this  day,  the  water  is  used  for  the  healing 
of  the  people. 


X 

Strange  Fortunes  of  Strange  People 


The  Fortunes  of  Ai  Powlo 


Once  upon  a time  a father  and  mother  had  a 
wicked  son  whose  name  was  Ai  Powlo.  One 
day,  while  in  the  rice  fields  together,  the  father 
sent  the  son  to  his  mother  with  a message. 
Instead,  however,  of  delivering  the  message,  Ai 
Powlo  said  his  father  had  been  eaten  by  a tiger. 
Leaving  his  mother  in  great  distress,  he  returned 
to  the  rice  fields  and  told  his  father  that  both  his 
mother  and  the  house  were  burned,  and,  for 
three  days,  did  the  father  mourn  for  his  wife,  as 
he  lay  in  the  watchhouse. 

While  the  father  was  mourning,  Ai  Powlo 
moved  his  mother  and  the  house  to  a new  place 
and  then  sought  his  father,  saying,  “I  saw  a 
woman  in  a new  house  by  the  stream  who 
resembles  my  mother.  Would  you  like  her  for  a 
wife?” 

“If  my  son  seeks  her  for  me,  I would  be 
thankful,”  replied  the  father. 

Going  to  his  mother,  Ai  Powlo  said,  “ I have  a 
man  who  would  make  thee  a good  husband. 
He  would  work  in  the  rice  fields.  Will  you  take 
him  for  a husband  ? ” 


131 


132  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

Thinking  of  the  work,  the  mother  said,  “ I 
will.  Go,  bring  him  to  me,  my  son." 

Lo,  when  the  father  and  mother  met,  they 
recognized  one  another,  and  they  knew  their 
crafty  son  had  deceived  them ! 

As  Ai  Powlo  fled  from  the  wrath  of  his  mother 
and  father,  he  journeyed  many  days,  and,  upon 
a day  it  happened  he  stole  some  pork  from  a 
Chinaman.  Taking  the  pork,  he  sought  the  rice 
fields  and  there  he  saw  an  old  man  at  work. 
Running  up  to  him,  he  called,  “Father,  do  you 
not  hunger  for  some  pork  ? I have  some  to  share 
with  you." 

“ I do,  my  son,"  replied  the  old  man. 

Together  they  went  to  the  watchhouse  to 
cook  the  pork,  but  found  no  pot  there. 

“ Whilst  I make  a fire,  go  thou,  my  son,  to  my 
house  and  ask  my  wife  for  a pot." 

“Your  husband  wants  you  to  give  me  all  the 
money  in  the  house,  as  he  has  heard  of  an  ele- 
phant which  he  can  buy  now,"  said  Ai  Powlo  to 
the  wife. 

The  wife  refused  to  give  it  to  him  and  Ai 
Powlo  called  to  the  husband,  who  sat  by  the 
watchhouse  waiting  for  the  pot,  “She  will  not 
give  it  to  me."  The  old  man  called  back,  as  he 
was  hungry  for  the  pork,  “Give  it  to  him. 


Strange  Fortunes  of  Strange  People  133 

Make  haste/’  and  receiving  all  their  store,  Ai 
Powlo  fled  into  another  province. 

Upon  a day,  as  Ai  Powlo  walked  by  the  high- 
way, he  saw  four  bald-headed  men  pouring 
water  on  their  heads  to  cool  themselves.  Run- 
ning up  to  them,  he  said,  “I  know  a medicine 
which  will  make  the  hair  grow.  Rub  your 
heads  until  the  skin  is  broken,  whilst  I make  the 
medicine." 

Taking  some  red  peppers,  he  pounded  them  to 
a soft  paste,  put  some  salt  in  it,  and  then  handed 
it  to  the  four  simple-minded  old  men,  who  had 
already  rubbed  their  heads  until  they  bled. 

Having  used  the  medicine,  they  suffered  great 
pain  and  would  have  killed  Ai  Powlo,  but  he  fled 
and  took  refuge  with  the  chow,  to  whom  he 
said,  “1  saw  four  old  men  on  the  way,  who 
butted  their  heads  together,  trying  to  see  which 
could  overcome  the  other.  All  have  much 
strength,  and  their  heads  are  scratched  and 
bleeding."  Even  as  Ai  Powlo  spoke  to  the 
chow,  the  chow  espied  the  men,  and,  when  they 
came  up,  he  commanded  them,  saying,  “If  you 
are  able  thus  to  wrestle  for  your  own  pleasure, 
you  can  wrestle  for  my  pleasure."  Not  daring 
to  disobey  the  command  of  the  chow,  the  men 
painfully  wrestled.  While  they  struggled,  Ai 


134  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

Powlo,  fearing  their  wrath,  fled,  and  as  he  fled, 
he  fell  into  a deep  stream  and  was  drowned. 

Many  years  after,  two  fishermen  were  fishing 
in  the  stream,  and  as  they  drew  in  the  net,  they 
found  not  a fish,  but  a skull,  and  lo,  the  skull 
both  laughed  and  mocked! 

As  the  fishermen  talked  together  of  the  curious 
skull,  a man  with  a boat-load  of  goods  ap- 
proached, and  they  called  to  him,  asking,  “Did 
you  ever  see  a skull  which  laughed  and 
mocked?” 

“Never  did  I see  such  a skull,  nor  ever  will  I 
believe  there  is  such  a thing,”  replied  the  man. 

“If  we  show  you  such  a skull,  what  will  you 
give  unto  us  ? ” asked  the  fishermen. 

“All  the  goods  in  my  boat,”  laughingly  an- 
swered the  man. 

On  beholding  the  skull,  which,  of  a truth  did 
both  laugh  and  mock  him,  the  boatman  forfeited 
his  goods,  but,  in  his  anger,  he  cut  the  skull  and 
broke  it  into  pieces,  and,  of  these  pieces  he  made 
dice  with  which  to  gamble,  and  was  it  not  fit- 
ting, as  Ai  Powlo,  whose  skull  it  was,  in  life 
had  but  deceived,  and  ever  done  evil  ? 


The  Fortunes  of  a Lazy  Beggar 

Once  upon  a time  a man  lived  who  was  never 
known  to  work.  When  the  neighbors  grew 
weary  supplying  him  with  food,  he  sought  the 
forest,  and  lay  down  under  a fig-tree  so  the  ripe 
fruit  might  drop  into  his  mouth.  Often,  when 
the  food  fell  out  of  his  reach,  he  would  suffer 
hunger,  rather  than  make  an  effort. 

It  fell  upon  a day  that  a stranger  passed 
that  way,  and  the  lazy  man  asked  him  to  please 
gather  some  fruit  and  put  it  into  his  mouth,  as  he 
hungered.  The  wily  stranger  gathered  a hand- 
ful of  earth  and  put  it  into  his  mouth,  as  he  lay 
there  with  his  eyes  even  closed.  Tasting  the 
earth,  the  lazy  man  was  angry,  and  he  threw  figs 
after  the  retreating  impostor,  who  ran  away 
mocking  him. 

Days  after,  a ripe  fig  fell  into  a stream  near  by 
and,  floating  down  the  stream,  was  seen  and 
eaten  by  the  daughter  of  a chow.  Delicious  to 
the  taste,  she  grew  dissatisfied  with  all  other 
fruit  and  vowed  that,  from  henceforth,  she  would 
eat  of  no  other  fruit,  and  that  the  man  who  had 
thrown  the  one  beautiful  fig  should  be  her  hus- 
band. 


135 


136  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

Angered  by  such  a caprice,  her  father  urged 
her  to  be  guided  by  his  judgment.  Unable  to 
restrain  her,  and,  hoping  to  turn  her  desire  else- 
where, the  chow  made  an  elaborate  feast  and 
bade  all  the  people  of  the  province  to  it.  But, 
among  all  was  not  the  one  who  had  thrown  the 
fig  into  the  stream. 

“ Is  there  not  yet  a man  who  has  not  come  to 
the  feast  ?"  asked  the  chow. 

“ None  save  the  lazy  beggar  who  lies  at  the  fig- 
tree,"  they  said. 

“ Bring  him  hither,"  commanded  the  chow, 
determined  to  have  his  daughter  see  what  manner 
of  man  she  was  selecting  as  her  husband. 

Too  lazy  to  walk,  the  lazy  man  was  carried  into 
the  presence  of  the  chow  and  his  guests. 

Ashamed  that  his  daughter  sought  such  as  her 
husband,  and  would  have  no  other,  as  it  was 
supposed  that  the  lazy  man  alone  had  thrown  the 
fig  into  the  stream,  and  he  was  too  lazy  to  deny 
it,  the  chow  had  a boat  built  for  their  use  and 
commanded  that  they  be  floated  down  the  stream 
to  the  sea.  This  he  did,  hoping  his  obstinate 
daughter  and  her  lazy  husband  might  be  lost  to 
the  world  forever. 

All  day  long  the  boat  drifted;  all  day  long 
spake  the  princess  not  one  word  to  her  husband, 


A Laos  Feast. 


A Street  in  a Laos  Town. 


Strange  Fortunes  of  Strange  People  137 

nor  would  she  have  aught  to  eat.  Fearing  she 
would  not  live,  if  she  did  not  eat,  the  beggar 
made  a fire  to  cook  some  rice  for  her.  Lazy  as 
ever,  he  put  but  two  stones  under  the  kettle, 
and  it  tottered. 

“ I cannot  endure  your  lazy  ways.  Put  three 
stones  under  the  kettle,"  cried  his  wife. 

The  husband  did  so,  glad  she  had  spoken  to 
him. 

And  when  the  boat  had  drifted  many  days,  it 
came  to  a place  where  once  there  had  been  a 
large  rice  field  and  there  it  remained. 

While  the  princess  stayed  in  the  boat,  the  once 
indolent  beggar  labored  day  after  day  in  the  rice 
fields  that  they  might  live;  moreover,  he  had 
learned  to  love  his  princess  wife. 

When  the  god,  who  looks  to  men's  deeds, 
from  his  home  in  the  sky  saw  the  man  no  longer 
loved  his  ease  more  than  all  else,  but  would  toil 
for  his  wife,  he  said  within  himself,  “the  man 
deserves  reward."  So  he  called  to  him  six  wild 
monkeys  from  his  woods,  and  gave  into  their 
care  six  magic  gongs,  telling  them  to  go  beat 
them  in  the  rice  fields  where  the  husband  toiled. 

The  husband  heard  the  monkeys  and  the  clang- 
ing of  the  gongs,  but,  at  last,  unable  to  endure 
the  noise,  finally  caught  the  monkeys  and  secured 


138  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

the  gongs.  He  then  threatened  to  kill  the  mon- 
keys, but  they  plead  that  they  were  sent,  by  the 
god  who  looks  to  men's  deeds,  with  the  gongs  as 
a reward  for  his  merit.  “ Having  seen  your  ef- 
forts to  provide  for  your  wife,  who  loves  not 
you,  he  sends  you  these  gongs.  If  you  strike 
this  one,  you  will  grow  beautiful;  that  one,  you 
will  have  wisdom.  Another  gives  you  lands  and 
servants,  and,  another,  if  struck  while  holding  it 
in  your  hands,  will  cause  people  to  do  you  rever- 
ence as  though  you  were  a god,”  they  told  the 
man. 

Having  permitted  the  monkeys  to  go,  he  beat  the 
gong  of  beauty,  and  his  body  grew  straight  and 
tall,  also  his  face  became  most  pleasant  to  look 
upon.  Beating  the  gong  of  power,  and  taking 
the  others  with  him,  he  sought  his  wife.  She  did 
not  recognize  him,  and  would  have  done  him 
reverence,  but  he  said,  “ Do  me  no  reverence.  I 
am  thy  husband,”  and  he  told  her  of  the  god’s 
reward.  When  she  heard  of  the  magic  gongs, 
she  entreated  him  to  return  to  her  father  that  he 
might  forgive  her  for  not  having  heeded  his 
counsel. 

Through  the  magic  gongs,  had  they  wealth, 
power  and  all  benefits  the  gods  could  bestow, 
and  the  father  loved  them,  and  indeed  gave  his 


Strange  Fortunes  of  Strange  People  139 

son-in-law  power  above  all  the  princes  in  his 
province.  And  the  once  lazy  man  thought  within 
himself:  "In  former  times  the  people  derided 

me  as  a lazy  man,  because  I would  not  work, 
now  that  I am  possessed  of  wealth,  they  do  me 
reverence;  yet  behold  I am  as  lazy  as  ever,  for  I 
open  my  mouth  and  food  is  ready  for  my  use. 
Thus  it  is,  that  when  a poor  man  does  not  work, 
he  is  called  a lazy  beggar,  but  when  a prince,  or 
rich  man,  does  not  work,  he  has  power,  and  peo- 
ple do  him  reverence." 

The  Misfortunes  of  Paw  Yan 

Upon  a day,  Paw  Yan1  said  to  his  wife,  "To- 
day I shall  build  a watch-tower  in  the  rice  fields." 

"You  will  need  four  posts  about  the  size  of 
our  children  here,"  replied  the  wife. 

Taking  the  four  children  with  him  to  the  rice 
fields,  Paw  Yan  dug  four  post  holes  and  made 
the  children  stand  in  them.  Then  he  packed  the 
earth  about  their  feet  to  make  them  firm,  took 
the  beams  and  laid  them  on  their  shoulders,  tied 
them  in  place,  and  went  for  more  bamboo  to  fin- 
ish the  watch-tower. 


1 Paw  Yan — a blunderer. 


140  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

The  eye  of  day  had  closed  in  the  West,  yet  the 
husband  and  the  children  returned  not,  so  the 
wife,  in  distress,  sought  them  in  the  fields,  and, 
lo,  when  she  reached  them,  there  stood  the  four 
children  as  posts  for  the  watch-tower. 

“Know  you  not  anything?  I said  take  four 
posts  the  size  of  our  children,”  cried  the  wife. 

And  upon  another  day  did  Paw  Yan  attempt  to 
build  the  tower,  but  so  utterly  did  he  fail  that  his 
wife  said,  “While  1 build  the  watch-tower  you 
gather  the  food  for  the  pigs,  and,  when  the  eye 
of  day  closes,  give  it  to  them.” 

Paw  Yan  watched  until  the  eye  of  day  was 
about  to  close,  but  forgot  to  gather  the  food  for 
the  pigs,  so  he  took  all  the  rice,  which  was  the 
food  for  the  family,  and  went  out  to  the  pigs. 
He  called,  “Ow,  ow,  ow,”1  and  the  pigs  ran 
about  trying  to  find  the  food,  but  Paw  Yan  for- 
got to  throw  it  to  them,  for,  while  he  stood 
there,  he  saw  ants  running  down  the  trunk  of  a 
tree,  and  he  could  think  of  nothing  else.  “ That’s 
an  easy  way  to  get  down  a tree,”  thought  Paw 
Yan.  “I’ll  try  it,”  and,  throwing  the  rice  aside, 
he  climbed  the  tree,  and,  head  first,  started  down, 
but  fell  to  the  ground  and  broke  his  neck! 

1 Ow — take. 


An  Unfortunate  Shot 


There  was  once  a poor  man  too  ill  to  work, 
and  he  had  no  one  to  give  him  food.  The  chow 
of  the  province  heard  of  him  and  sent  for  him  to 
come  to  his  house. 

When  the  man  reached  the  house  of  the  chow, 
the  chow  gave  him  a bow  and  arrow,  saying, 
“ Shoot  upward  toward  the  sky.  When  the 
arrow  falls  to  the  earth,  if  it  fall  making  a hole 
in  the  earth,  I will  weigh  the  earth  which  the 
arrow  digs  up,  and  give  thee  the  weight  of  it  in 
gold.  On  whatsoever  thy  arrow  falls,  that  will  I 
weigh  and  give  its  weight  unto  thee  in  gold.  If, 
in  its  fall,  the  arrow  should  make  a hole  in  the 
ground  six  feet  long  and  six  feet  deep,  that  earth 
will  I weigh,  and  gold  according  to  the  weight 
thereof  shall  be  thine.” 

The  poor  man  was  indeed  glad,  and,  shooting 
with  all  his  strength  into  the  air,  the  arrow 
pierced  a pomegranate  seed,  therefore  the  chow 
gave  unto  him  gold  but  the  weight  of  the  seed! 


141 


XI 

Stories  Gone  Astray 


The  Blind  Man 


A man  and  a woman  had  a daughter  to  whom 
they  ever  taught,  in  selecting  a husband,  to  take 
none  but  a man  with  rough  hands,  as  then  she 
might  know  he  would  work. 

Overhearing  this  advice,  and  desiring  a wife,  a 
blind  man  took  some  rice,  pounded  it,  and  hav- 
ing rubbed  it  over  his  hands,  came  to  woo  the 
maiden.  Though  utterly  blind,  the  eyes  of  the 
blind  man  appeared  even  as  the  eyes  of  those 
who  see,  and  the  maiden  loved  him  and  gave 
herself  to  him  in  marriage.  Never  did  she  sus- 
pect the  truth. 

Many  days  they  lived  happily,  but  upon  a time 
the  wife  made  curry  of  many  kinds  of  meat,  and 
her  husband  ate  but  of  one  kind.  When  she 
asked  him  why  he  ate  but  of  the  one  kind,  the 
husband  replied,  “If  a man  eat  from  a dish,  that 
dish  should  he  wash.  If  I eat  but  from  one,  1 
need  wash  but  one." 

Again,  upon  a day,  as  the  husband  plowed  the 
rice  field,  he  plowed  up  the  ridges  between  the 
fields. 

“Why  dost  thou  work  after  that  fashion?" 
asked  the  wife. 


145 


146  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


“The  places  for  planting  the  rice  are  small  and 
narrow.  I wish  to  make  them  larger,”  replied 
the  husband. 

When  the  rice  had  grown,  the  man  went  into 
the  fields  with  his  wife,  and,  as  they  walked,  he 
fell  over  the  ridges,  in  among  the  rice. 

“Why  dost  thou  fall  upon  the  rice?”  asked 
the  wife. 

“I  do  but  measure  the  distance  between  the 
plants.  If  the  rice  be  good  this  year,  I will  then 
know  just  how  far  apart  to  plant  it  next  year,” 
he  answered. 

And  upon  a time  it  happened  the  house  was 
burning,  and,  as  the  wife  fled,  she  saw  her  hus- 
band lingering  and  unable  to  find  the  door. 

“Come  this  way,  the  door  is  here,”  cried  the 
wife. 

“I  know,  I know.  I but  measure  the  house 
that  we  may  build  another  of  its  size,”  retorted 
the  husband. 

Lo,  as  the  husband  left  the  burning  house  and 
was  running,  he  fell  into  a well.  His  wife 
placed  a ladder  for  him  to  climb  out,  but,  be- 
hold, he  climbed  far  above  the  mouth  of  the 
well. 

“Come  down.  Here  is  the  ground,”  called 
the  wife. 


Stories  Gone  Astray 


147 


“I  know,  I know.  I am  up  here  to  see  if  the 
fire  is  out,”  called  down  the  husband. 

Long  had  the  father  of  the  wife  suspected  the 
husband  was  blind,  and,  upon  a day,  he  came  to 
test  his  eyes.  Carrying  a bell,  such  as  a buffalo 
wears,  the  father  hid  in  the  bushes  and  rang  the 
bell. 

“Go,  bring  the  buffalo  into  the  compound,”1 
directed  the  wife. 

Suspecting  naught,  the  husband  went  to  the 
bushes,  and  cried,  “Yoo,  yoo!”2  The  father 
struck  him,  but  he  freed  himself  and  returned  to 
the  house  and  told  his  wife  that  the  buffalo  had 
been  dangerous  and  had  horned  him.  But  the 
father,  convinced  the  husband  had  deceived 
them  all,  drove  him  from  the  house. 

As  the  blind  man  walked,  he  met  a man  with 
palsied  feet. 

“If  thou  wilt  be  eyes  to  me,  I will  be  feet  to 
thee,”  called  the  blind  man,  and,  forthwith,  he 
put  the  patsied  man  on  his  back.  As  they 
journeyed,  they  met  a wizard,  who  said, 
“Would  you  prosper,  that  which  you  grasp 
hold  with  a secure  hand.” 

And  upon  a day,  the  man  with  the  palsy  saw 

1 Enclosed  grounds  or  yard — generally  a place  of  residence. 

9 Yoo,  yoo — stand  still,  be  quiet. 


148  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

a bird’s  nest;  thinking  there  would  be  eggs 
therein,  he  bade  the  blind  man  go  up  the  tree 
and  bring  them.  When  the  blind  man  grasped 
the  nest,  the  head  of  a venomous  snake  appeared, 
but  his  companion  called,  “Grasp  it  tightly,”  and, 
as  he  held  it,  the  snake  cast  of  its  venom  in  his 
eyes,  and  he  saw  all  things.  Just  lingering  to 
place  the  snake  on  his  afflicted  friend,  and  seeing 
him,  too,  restored,  the  husband  hastened  home 
to  his  wife,  but  as  he  ran,  he  beheld  her  coming 
out  to  him.  With  these  kind  words  did  she 
greet  him,  “O,  my  husband,  come  I will  work 
for  thee.  I have  ever  loved  thee!”  but,  when 
she  beheld  that  his  eyesight  was  restored,  she 
was  exceeding  glad,  and  greatly  did  she  rejoice. 

Heads  I Win,  Tails  You  Lose 

A man  once  asked  his  newly-married  son-in- 
law,  “You  will  help  me  in  the  work  that  the 
chow  gives  me  to  do,  now  that  you  are  one  of 
us,  will  you  not  ? ” 

And  the  son-in-law  replied,  “I  will  promise 
this.  Whenever  you  go,  I will  stay  at  home, 
and  when  I stay  at  home,  you  will  go  and 
work.” 


Stories  Gone  Astray 


149 


Pleased  with  the  ready  promise,  the  father 
said,  44 1 thank  you,  my  son." 

When  the  chow  called  the  father,  the  son 
said,  “This  time  you  go,  and  I will  stay  at 
home/’  and  the  father  went. 

And  when  the  chow  again  called,  the  son 
said,  44  Now,  I will  stay  at  home,  whilst  you  go.” 
Then  the  father  understood  the  promise  of  his 
son,  and  he  did  his  government  work  alone  until 
the  day  of  his  death. 


oe 

The  Great  Boaster 

There  lived  in  the  south  a man  who  so  con- 
tinually boasted  of  his  strength  and  endurance 
that  all  the  people  called  him,  “Kee-oo-yai” — 
the  great  boaster.  Never  entered  into  his  ear  a 
tale  of  danger,  but  his  mouth  opened  to  speak  of 
a greater  one  which  had  been  his;  never  a feat  of 
strength  but  he  could  tell  of  one  requiring  greater 
strength  which  he  had  done,  so,  when  the  men  of 
the  village  talked  together  and  saw  him  drawing 
near,  they  would  derisively  say,  “ There  is  the 
great  boaster  coming.  We  must  flee  from  his 
face  for,  is  not  he  as  strong  and  brave  as  the 
elephant  ? And  we,  compared  to  him  are  but  as 


150  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 

the  dogs,  or  as  the  pigs.”  And  the  company 
would  separate,  so  when  the  boaster  reached  the 
place  no  one  would  be  there. 

Once,  a young  boy  came  from  a distant 
province,  and,  hearing  of  the  boaster,  said, 
“ Verily,  I can  bring  him  to  have  a face  of 
shame  before  his  neighbors,  for,  in  one  thing  I 
can  excel  any  man  almost.  I can  run  for  a short 
distance  and  my  heart  does  not  beat  faster, 
neither  can  any  man  say  that  my  heart  is 
quicker  than  when  I am  but  seated,  doing  no 
labor.  I will  challenge  the  boaster  to  run  up  a 
hill  with  me,  breathing  but  four  times  until  the 
top  is  reached.” 

The  next  day,  the  boy  met  and  challenged  the 
boaster  to  run  to  the  top  of  a small  hill,  drawing 
breath  but  four  times  on  the  way.  “ If  you  can 
run  and  draw  breath  but  four  times,  I can  run 
the  same  distance  and  draw  breath  but  twice," 
the  boaster  said. 

When  the  race  was  run,  many  men  ran  along 
to  see  that  neither  of  the  runners  deceived  the 
other.  The  boaster  ran  but  a short  distance, 
when  he  shouted  in  pain  and  shame,  “ Had  we 
been  running  down-hill,  I am  sure  that  I could 
have  done  more  than  you." 

Then  all  the  men  mocked  the  boaster,  saying, 


Stories  Gone  Astray 


151 


“ Your  words  are  truly  large,  but  your  works  are 
but  small.  Never  again  will  we  listen  to  you, 
for  a young  lad  has  overcome  one  who  says  that 
he  is  stronger  than  the  strongest.”  From  that 
time  never  were  they  troubled,  for,  “Kee-oo- 
yai,” — the  great  boaster,  was  never  heard  to 
boast  again. 


A Clever  Thief 

Once  a man  went  into  the  field  of  a gardener 
and  stole  a melon.  Before  he  had  had  time  to 
eat  it  the  gardener  discovered  him,  took  the 
melon  and  tied  it  to  the  neck  of  the  thief,  and 
led  him  to  the  home  of  the  head  man  of  the 
village. 

As  they  walked  along,  the  thief  took  his  scarf 
and  covered  his  head  and  shoulders,  and,  as  he 
was  in  front,  he  ate  the  melon  without  the 
gardener’s  seeing  him. 

When  they  reached  the  home  of  the  head  man, 
the  gardener  said,  “ This  man  stole  a melon  from 
me.  It  is  tied  to  his  neck  under  the  cloth  which 
covers  his  head  and  shoulders.” 

“ I thought  this  man  but  walked  along.  I did 
not  know  he  would  accuse  me  of  such  a sin.  If 


152  Laos  Folk-Lore  of  Farther  India 


I stole  a melon,  where  is  it  ? " asked  the  thief. 
He  removed  the  scarf,  and,  lo,  there  was  nothing 
to  prove  his  guilt,  and  the  head  man  said,  “ I see 
no  sign  of  guilt  in  this  man.  Do  not  again 
falsely  accuse  one,  or  you  will  be  punished." 

Eyeless-Needle,  Rotten-Egg,  Rotten-Banana, 
Old-Fish  and  Broken-Pestle. 

Once  upon  a time  there  were  five  men  so  lazy 
and  wicked  that  no  one  would  speak  to  them 
nor  have  anything  to  do  with  them.  No  one  of 
their  native  province  would  speak  to  them  at  all, 
and,  to  show  their  contempt  for  them,  the  people 
had  christened  them  by  odious  names.  One  was 
called,  “ Eyeless-Needle";  one,  “Rotten-Egg"; 
one,  “Rotten-Banana";  one,  “Old-Fish,"  and 
the  fifth,  “ Broken-Pestle." 

As  there  was  neither  shelter  nor  food  for  them 
in  the  village,  they  went  to  live  in  the  woods, 
and  one  day  they  saw  a cannibal  building  a fire. 
He  had  both  a fine  house  and  much  goods,  so 
one  of  the  men  said,  “ Let  us  go  kill  him,  and 
take  his  goods." 

“Eyeless-needle"  said,  “No,  we  must  not 


Stories  Gone  Astray 


153 


kill  him  now.  When  he  sleeps  we  will  kill  him. 
I have  planned  just  how  it  shall  be  done.  You, 

‘ Rotten-Egg,’  go  to  the  fireplace.  You,  ‘Old- 
Fish,’  jump  into  the  water  jar.  ‘ Rotten-Ba- 
nana,’ lie  down  at  the  top  of  the  stairs,  and, 
you,  ‘Broken-Pestle,’  lie  at  the  foot.” 

As  the  eye  of  day  had  closed  and  the  cannibal 
slept,  “Eyeless-Needle,”  from  under  the  bed, 
pricked  him.  The  cannibal  thought  insects  were 
biting  him,  and,  unable  to  sleep,  he  arose  to 
build  a fire.  When  he  stooped  to  blow  the 
flame,  “Rotten-Egg”  broke  and  flew  up  into 
his  face;  when  he  sought  the  water  jar  to  wash 
his  face,  “Old-Fish”  jumped  and  broke  the  jar 
and  all  the  water  was  lost.  Taking  the  dipper  to 
go  to  the  well  for  water,  the  cannibal  slipped  on 
“Rotten-Banana”  and  fell  downstairs,  where 
“Broken-Pestle”  struck  him  on  the  head  and 
killed  him.  Then,  taking  much  goods,  “Eye- 
less-Needle,” “Rotten-Banana,”  “Rotten-Egg,” 
“Old-Fish,”  and  “Broken-Pestle”  fled,  and  to 
this  day,  has  no  one  either  seen  or  heard  of 
them. 


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